Be Stupid
by Felinephoenix
Summary: Marco broke up with his girlfriend and Ax left his strict upbringing. Neither one of them expected the results and revelations of that one night. Finished fic, takes place after #54. Slash. (Marco/Ax)
1. Chapter One When Marco Mopes

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This was like Please Wake Me Up, I was just kind of struck with this idea during the day and it would not let go. This takes place about a year before Jake & co. set out off on the Blade Ship, so everyone is 18...am I correct? Slash content.

Miserably, Marco took another swig of crappy beer. He didn't really drink much, but this had been one shitty night. There was another name on the ever-growing list of models and hot celebrities he had either dumped or been dumped by. This time, he'd been the dumpee, which he knew (from experience) hurt a hell of a lot more than dumping someone. He had really liked this girl, too. Her name was Candice Reese, and she was an upcoming model/actress; with the most beautiful long, golden hair and deep blue eyes. Candice was fun and vivacious, and she actually ate, which was a nice change. She was also quite nice in some other respects, too...

It was funny how much she looked like Rachel, though. Or maybe just sad. Marco took another gulp from his beer (What kind was it? He didn't really know.) and glanced over at the tabloid he'd bought on the way home. It was actually pretty cool to see his picture on those things and see what kind of crazy, kinky crap the public could come up with. Half the stories were either about his alleged "affair" with Rachel during the war, or that he'd been seen with some guy.

Both were pretty ridiculous. Sure, he'd thought Rachel was really cute and all, but he'd never make a move on her. She had Tobias, and as weird as it was, he knew that was something not to mess with. Besides, there was always the fact that Rachel would probably rip him limb to limb if he'd tried anything. Marco liked living. He liked living a lot.

And he wasn't gay, he knew that for sure. Of course, maybe he'd have better luck with guys, Marco thought sardonically. God, would the press love that! He could see it now. Marco, the gay animorph. It would be pretty funny. Then all the rumors would switch around to his "affair" with Jake.

At the thought of sex with Jake, Marco loudly cursed his stupid, stupid brain. He'd be having _that_ image stuck in his head for about another three hours. Oh god, that was just nasty! For a moment, Marco seriously contemplated whether or not he would be sick. Taking a deep breath, he decided he wasn't, at least until the beer caught up with him. He didn't exactly have a high tolerance anyway.

Not that he was an alcoholic or anything, despite whatever the net nerds had to say, including himself.

__

All right, Marco. You're practically drunk, moping, and picturing Jake naked. Get out of the house. The little voice in Marco's head ordered. He dragged himself up off the floor of his house. But where the heck would he go? He didn't really feel up to partying, but who would actually take him in at...

Marco glanced over at the clock in mild shock.

Who would take him in at the 3:30 in the morning? All he really felt like doing was getting out of the house to bitch about Candice some more before moving onto Girl number-he-lost-count. Still, who the heck would have the patience (or just be plain stupid enough) to hang out with him this early...and still actually _listen_ to him? 

Duh. Who else?

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Freezing outside in the 40-degree winter weather, Marco angrily knocked on the apartment door for about the fifth time. This was not helping his mood, especially considering his was now picturing nude Jake with a blanket...hey, he was freezing.

"DAMN IT, AX! WAKE UP!" Marco screamed, therefore waking up everyone else in the apartment building. About a minute earlier, the door was opened by an andalite that didn't exactly look like he was all there. Naturally, Marco realized the insanity of what he was doing. Nice, normal, sane people did not go waking up their old partner in crime at hellish hours to bitch about their ex-girlfriend. At least, Marco was pretty sure they didn't. But then again, he somewhat forgot the meaning of the word sane.

Marco, what are you doing here? Ax ever so cleverly responded.

"Um...I'm not quite sure anymore." Marco found himself answering. Nevertheless, Ax let him walk in. After the war, Ax had decided to stay, at least for a little while, on Earth. Ax had gotten himself a little apartment...it was pretty sparsely furnished, but it had the essentials. TV, fridge (no doubt filled with cinnamon buns), bathroom, bed, and a couch. Maybe some clothes. Somewhere.

"So, um...how've you been doing?" Marco blurted out, feeling really stupid. He hadn't seen Ax ever since he had and Candice had been dating (about three months) and here he had come fully prepared to rant about some girl his alien buddy had probably never seen, except from the all mighty tabloids.

I have been doing...okay. Ax answered, looking at the shabby apartment. Marco really felt hanging himself now, and the effects of the crappy beer weren't exactly helping him along.

"Yeah, me too...I guess..." Marco muttered, only to be met with a sharp No you haven't.

Marco looked in surprise at his old friend. "What makes you think that, Ax-man?"

Waking me up at 3:45 in the morning is not normal behavior for you. Ax simply answered. 

Marco sighed, sitting himself down on the couch. "You're right. It isn't." He said softly.

So what is your problem, Marco? Ax asked, glancing over at the troubled young man.

"She dumped me." Marco laughed. "Candice dumped me. Girl number..." Marco had to give himself a moment too count...and couldn't find the number.

Candice Resee. Girl Number 23. Ax immediately replied. Marco blinked in shock.

"Wow, you've been keeping track?" Marco asked, gaping at the blue furry deer. Ax shrugged, and threw Marco a magazine. He found the pages were flipped over to reveal a gossip column, and a list of Marco's girlfriends so far. Ax was right, it totaled twenty-three if counted Candice. How sad.

"Geez." Marco commented, looking at the article again just make sure the numbers matched up. Marco had to admit that it was weird Ax had a magazine featuring his own love life, but then again this was Ax-Man. King of odd. "This is very pathetic, even for me." Marco stated.

I have to admit it is odd that you haven't been able to keep a relationship with any of them.

Marco laughed despite himself as he put down the magazine. "You're telling me."

Ax smiled that weird-beyond-weird Andalite smile. He gathered up some clothes off the floor and walked into the bathroom. He emerged a few moments later as a somewhat dressed human. Marco found himself very relived that Ax was wearing clothing, because the image of a nude Jake was still floating around his head. Ax pulled a dingy white tank top over his head, and it was then that Marco noticed he was holding the remote control.

__

He probably carries it everywhere he goes. Poor guy.

"I was thinking that we would watch some television. Vision. Siiion..." Ax said, using his ever creepy mouth sounds. Marco shrugged. 

"Your house. I could always go back home if you want to sleep, you know." Marco suggested none-too-subtly. Ax didn't say anything, but he tossed Marco the remote. 

"I'm not tired." The bizarrely attractive boy said, heading into the kitchen. Marco sat there changing the channels, perplexed at how in the world Ax couldn't be tired.

__

He's probably lying...but it's nice. Marco thought, switching to the cartoons. 

__

It's good having someone there for you once in a while. Twenty-three girls...that's unbelievable. What in the world is wrong with me? Shouldn't I be able to settle down with one of them? Geez...

Ax reemerged, holding a bowl of popcorn. "There are cokes in the kitchen. Chen. Hen!"

Marco shook his head, chuckling. Would Ax ever get over that? 

Probably not.

Ax placed the popcorn between the two of them, and they stayed up watching cartoons until about five o'clock when Marco finally dropped off to sleep.

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"Ow!" Marco shouted, covering his face with his hands to block out the bright sunlight streaming into the apartment, and also from the major headache he had developed. After a few moments, he reluctantly opened his eyes. Where the heck was he?

Then he finally recognized the mess. Right, he was in Ax's apartment. He'd probably fallen asleep on the couch...but where had Ax gone?

Marco heard the door opening and instinctively leapt up. Then he almost smacked himself in the head when he saw that it was only Ax. Holding what suspiciously looked like a box of doughnuts.

"I bought some breakfast." Ax explained, looking worried. Then Marco noticed that his face was burning. Damn it. "I just, um, thought you might be someone else..." Marco muttered, feeling his face get hotter, much to his irritation. "Candice?" Ax asked, and Marco shook his head. 

"No...just, uh, forget it." he mumbled. _Great way to the start the day. _He thought to himself.

Marco followed Ax (who was still carrying the box) into the kitchen. Marco was starving.

Ax placed the box down on the counter, and Marco found himself smiling. So maybe Ax was really, really, _really_ weird...but he was a nice guy. Jake would probably be the only one to have put up with him yesterday, and he wasn't even that sure that even Jake would do that now. Candice wouldn't have. Ages, really, since he really had someone just...been there for him. Sure, all of his girl collection had been nice, but they hadn't really given a damn about _him. _Just that he was Marco. The Marco. That was the only thing that really mattered to them. Nothing more than that...

"Hey, Ax." Marco said, looking at his friend. Ax turned around to face him, holding a doughnut.

"What-tuh?" Ax asked curiously. Marco didn't answer for a moment, feeling his face flush again. Why the heck was he so nervous about this? It didn't exactly make sense...Marco gulped.

"Um, thanks..." Marco muttered. "Thanks for every..." 

Without completely realizing it at first, Marco was cut off. Cut off because he was kissing Ax. Looking back, he wasn't completely sure how it had happened. It was definitely happening, though.

Marco was kissing his old friend, and neither of them were exactly complaining...then it hit him.

__

What the hell am I doing? 

Without even looking back, Marco pulled away and ran out the door. 


	2. Chapter Two When Ax Mopes

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, I would just like to explain I had never intended to write this! But as I was trying to write the second chapter of my new story, which I hate the more and more I think about it...I may delete that. I somehow messed up my original idea there. But, anyway, back to this story...this is my first ever story from Ax's POV. It struck me during the day and refused to go bye-bye. Anyone notice how there are extremely few M/A fics in Ax's view? I hope I got him somewhat in character. He came out surprisingly bitter to me...I also expanded on the ending a bit in this chapter.

To explain Marco's actions in the previous chapter: Well, that kiss was like a wake up call. And he wasn't ready to deal with it. By the time he was, as you see here, it was too late. Well, enjoy! I hope this is of the same caliber of the previous chapter!

Ax paced around his new scoop. Well, Ax thought to himself, it wasn't exactly a scoop. But it was his home. A cheap apartment in the city with some scattered furniture, a bathroom and kitchen. He had left the homeworld for good now. Years of growing irritation with his people that had been brewing since he first arrived on Earth had finally taken their toll, and he had left.

He'd have to demorph soon...Ax had found himself spending more and more time in his human morph lately, not that he would ever become a nothlit. For a moment, he'd contemplated it...but he couldn't. He just could not do that. So Ax headed to the bathroom to demorph, which was a habit he'd picked up over the years.

As he made his way there he stepped on something. A tabloid he'd picked up a few days ago. The tabloid was full of an obscene amount of rumors about the other Animorphs. Particularly Marco's love life, and reports on how close Cassie and her fiancé Ronnie were coming to their "imminent" breakup. Most of the tabloids Ax had seen were like this...kind of sad to know he'd received such little press.

Of course, if it leaked out to the press that he'd left the homeworld...then there was that _other_ thing.

The tabloids would have the time of their lives if they ever figured out that the "alien" was into guys.

Ax sighed and threw the magazine on top the TV. He didn't really feel like looking at it anymore.

In the span of a few minutes, Ax had demorphed and retired for the night, sometime near 12:30

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Ax ended up sleeping for a shorter time than he had desired. Something, or someone, was furiously banging on his door. He had to wonder what kind of person would be here on a cold night at some time very early in the morning. Whoever they were had to be lacking some common sense, that was for certain.

"DAMN IT, AX! WAKE UP!" Shouted the source of the banging. Of course. Marco would be the only person here at this time of the day. In his just above comatose state, Ax miraculously realized that he probably should open the door and let his mildly eccentric and now obviously crazy friend inside. So he opened the door.

Marco? the Andalite asked What are you doing here?

"Um...I'm not sure anymore." Marco muttered in reply. Against better judgment, Ax still let him in, briefly noticing it look like he'd been drinking. With the very public knowledge that Marco apparently changed girlfriends almost every week, Ax had a feeling he knew exactly why. Wonderful.br

"So, um...how've you been doing?" Marco asked, sounding oddly nervous. Which came as a small surprise to Ax. There was no real reason for him to feel that way -- well, not counting the pure stupidity of his recent actions.

I have been doing...okay. Ax answered, looking around the apartment and feeling embarrassed and irritated. Embarrassed and irritated at himself for his _very_ poor housekeeping skills.

"Yeah, me too...I guess..." Marco mumbled.

No you haven't. Ax snapped back before even thinking about it. Marco looked surprised by Ax's reaction.

"What makes you think that, Ax-man?" Marco asked. Ax almost wanted to slice Marco up, honestly. He wouldn't.

The temptation was very strong, though. Waking me up at 3:45 in the morning is not normal behavior for you.

Marco sighed and sat himself on the couch. "You're right. It isn't." He whispered so softly that Ax almost missed it.

Ax felt suddenly concerned for Marco. It wasn't like him to be this depressed over a girl he had only spent a few months with. 

So what is your problem, Marco? Ax asked, casting his friend a mildly worried glance. 

"She dumped me." Marco said, laughing. "Candice dumped me. Girl number..." Marco frowned, racking his brain for the number that he seemed to not know. 

Candice Reese. Girl Number 23. Ax immediately replied, recalling the number from when he'd leafed through that tabloid after buying it. He found that Marco was gaping at him. "Wow, you've been keeping track?"

Ax had to fight the urge to laugh. Even though he had been developing a curiosity in Marco's unending list of ladies, he hadn't honestly tried to keep track of them. He relied on tabloids for that. 

He picked up the magazine from on top of the TV, flipped the pages to the article about Marco and threw it to the Casanova lounging on his couch. Marco caught it and scanned the list included, a look of disappointment appearing on his face. "Geez." he commented, and looked over the article on more time.

"This is very pathetic, even for me." Marco stated, a tinge of bitterness in his voice. 

Against good judgment, Ax found himself voicing his opinion. I have to admit it is odd that you haven't been able to keep a relationship with any of them. Marco laughed and put down the magazine. "You're telling me."

Relived that Marco had cheered up somewhat, Ax smiled. He gathered up some clothes and headed to the bathroom. Nothing better to do until Marco decided to leave...might as well watch some TV. So he morphed and picked up the remote that had somehow ended up next to the sink. Ax really had no idea how that happened.

He emerged from the bathroom and pulled over a once white tank top over his head, noticing a flash of amusement in Marco's eyes as he saw the remote.

"I was thinking we could watch some television. Vision. Siion..." Ax explained. Marco shrugged.

"Your house. I could always go back home if you want to sleep, you know." Marco suggested without subtlety.

Ax didn't say anything, finding himself mildly shocked that he actually wanted Marco to stay. 

He tossed him the remote control. "I'm not tired." Ax said, heading into the kitchen to get something to snack on.

The morphed Andalite entered the kitchen and began to search around, a million thoughts going through his mind. He had to have put that popcorn in here somewhere. It was impossible that it had grown legs and walked away, unless the Ellimist or Crayak had gotten extremely bored, and Ax somehow doubted that.

He wasn't entirely focused on finding the popcorn as it was. There was something else starting to distract him.

Why was he so concerned about Marco all of the sudden? It hadn't only been for this one night, either. It had been three months exactly since he'd last seen Marco in flesh, ever since he had begun dating Candice. Ever since then Ax had found himself constantly checking magazines and tabloids for news on the two of them, perhaps hoping in the back of his mind that they would break up soon. Or at the _very_ least, not always together.

Ax really hadn't acknowledged it until tonight. He'd actually been jealous of Candice! Then what did that mean?

It took perhaps two seconds for him to figure it out. He had a crush on Marco.

This was not good.

To add another shock, Ax somehow found the popcorn right above him. 

In about ten minutes, after nearly burning himself because he was still thinking over his recent revelation, Ax had miraculously managed to make popcorn. So he poured some drinks and decided to leave them in the kitchen for the moment, at least until he got the popcorn bowl out of his arms.

"Drinks are in the kitchen. Chen!" Ax announced as he came back into the living room. Marco chuckled and shook his head. Ax didn't say anything as he placed he sat on the couch and placed the popcorn bowl between himself and Marco.

They ended up watching cartoons for a bit more than an hour until Marco fell into a deep sleep, his head somehow landing in the empty popcorn bowl. Ax picked up the bowl, retrieved a blanket for Marco, and decided to see if he could get any sleep himself.

------------------------------

Ax nearly dropped the box of doughnuts as he maneuvered his way into the apartment. Marco leapt up, obviously awake. "I brought some breakfast." Ax said, hoping to get that panicked look out of Marco's eyes. He must have scared him by accident. Then Marco's face burned bright red.

And as much as he shouldn't have been noticing it, Ax had to admit it was cute in an odd way. Of course, Ax reasoned that he probably was just blushing because he was caught off guard. No other reason, like if Ax had been Candice or some other girl. The thought was somewhat depressing.

"I just, um, thought you might be someone else..." Marco muttered, his face turning an even brighter shade.

"Candice?" Ax asked with a slight bitter tone as he felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. 

Marco shook his head. "No...just, uh, forget it..." He mumbled. So Ax forced himself to, and headed to the kitchen. Marco was trailing along behind him. Ax placed the box on the counter and proceeded to get himself a doughnut.

He noticed that Marco hadn't moved ever since they got into the kitchen, but he dismissed the thought.

It didn't really matter.

"Hey, Ax." Marco said suddenly, causing Ax to look up at him in spite of himself. "What-tuh?" Ax asked. 

Marco blushed again, and gulped. "Um, thanks..." he muttered. "Thanks for every..."

Maybe it was caused by his pent-up feelings getting to him, Ax thought. Or perhaps Marco was still a bit drunk. There was the small possibility that they were both sober and acting on a mutual attraction, but Ax was almost afraid to admit that was possible. Afraid to deal with it if that was really the real reason this was happening.

Afraid that was the reason that by some twist of fate, he was kissing Marco. Who did not seem to mind at all.

Until Marco suddenly froze up, pushed himself away and ran out the door.

It took a few minutes for it all to sink in. Ax had been prepared to run outside and at least try to talk to Marco, but...

If he had been back on the homeworld, there would be no way that this would have ever been accepted. It was bad enough that his people had never really accepted Elfangor and Loren's relationship, but this...it had been one of the things that had led to his dissatisfaction with his own people. That kind of prejudiced and stupid narrow-minded thinking. Knowing in his gut that even if he had been with one of his own species, the fact that they were the same gender would have meant intense shame to his whole family. Possibly even more than his brother had caused. He was used to using the lie that he had been staring at some beautiful Andalite girl to cover up the truth.

Not that he'd really found anything wrong with any of them. Truthfully, he would've been with one of the girls if he had to...they were easier to take than the males at times. Not as stupid in most cases. Narrow-minded thinking...

Yet, as Ax felt a deep sort of sickness wash over him from deep within...perhaps they were right. He could live with and marry a nice female that his parents could be proud of, couldn't he? Even if he was never genuinely attracted to her, he would be able to manage. It wouldn't be a cause of unending shame to his family at all.

It also, Ax thought as he began to gather up some clothes and food just in case, wouldn't hurt as badly. It couldn't.

Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill made up his mind. He dumped the box of doughnuts into the trash and stored his clothes and small food supply into the box and stormed out of his apartment without looking back. 

He never even saw Marco speeding back.


	3. Chapter Three When Marco Talks

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I think this has made itself into a series. Whee. Anyway, here we go into what happened when Marco got to the apartment and afterwards. Marco POV again...it'll be switching between the two. Be warned, kiddies -- there are some colorful words in this chapter. Oh, and I'm thinking about maybe making this into a bit of a C/J story, too. It'll still be primarily M/A, but with a touch of C/J. What do you guys think?  
Hope you enjoy this chapter!

What was he thinking? What the _hell_ had he been thinking? He'd freaked out because, just a little, he hadn't minded kissing Ax. God, Marco thought, he was such a stupid bastard at times. What was the big deal, anyway? It was just a simple mistake...nothing else. Really.  
So Marco set off running back to the apartment, heedless of the fact that Ax was already walking as far from it as he could, in the exact opposite direction.

Marco banged on the door of Ax's apartment as loudly as he could. There was no answer. Marco frowned and fiddled with the doorknob, and to his surprise the door swung open. Hesitantly, Marco walked in. Where the heck had Ax gone? Everything was still here, including that damned tabloid. Marco searched the living room. No sign of Ax. The kitchen contained no Ax. After a moment or two, Marco decided to check both the bedroom and bathroom. Nothing.  
Marco threw himself on the couch, feeling both extremely pissed and worried. Mostly pissed off at himself for being such a jackass, ticked that Ax had apparently run off somewhere, and worried that Ax had run off somewhere and wasn't coming back.

Marco had to wrestle a serious urge to beat himself up at the moment. Why was he being such a stupid little idiot? All he'd done was kiss the guy, and probably just because he was feeling a bit down...maybe still a bit drunk. It wasn't like he'd done it because he liked Ax or anything. Even if it sent chills up his spine even now... Maybe he was bi and hadn't figured it out 'til now, Marco considered. It was possible, right?

Oh fuck.

Marco slammed his head into the back of the couch and groaned loudly. That beer must've affected him a lot more than he'd thought. He hoped.  
Forcing himself to forget the situation for a while, Marco almost just walked out of the apartment. But just in case, he decided to leave a note for Ax. It simply read 'We need to talk. See ya later, Marco.' Then Marco walked out.

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After missing the towel about three times, Marco washed the water (and lingering shampoo) out of his burning eyes. After finally getting home and sobering up a bit, he still found himself way beyond confused -- no pun intended. So he had the brillant idea to talk to Cassie and see if _she_ could help him form any sort of idea. However, he had a small suspicion that Cassie wouldn't exactly appreciate him showing up in the stinking and filthy clothes he'd been wearing since his minor beer binge. So he had to clean up.  
So he did, more or less; then headed out to see Cassie.

It was sometime around two in the afternoon when Cassie heard the sound of a car pulling up to her house. She thought that maybe it was Ronnie, but the guy coming out of the car was way too short to be him...  
"Marco!" Cassie called out, running out the door. Marco looked up, a bit surprised. Cassie ran over and hugged him tightly. "It's been forever! How've you been?" She brightly asked her friend.  
Marco shrugged. "I've been having a weird day."  
Cassie raised an eyebrow. "Weird? In what way?"  
To Cassie's surprise, Marco turned a bit red. "Um...could we talk about that someplace else? Like, inside?"  
Cassie laughed and dragged Marco inside her house. "Sure."  
It wasn't exactly a glamourous place or anything...not like that was expected, this was Cassie after all. But it was comfy, more or less. And to Marco it was about a _thousand_ times better than talking about this outside. There was no way Marco was going to let any of what happened last night become public. At the very least, not for a long time...the funny part was that if any media dorks had seen him outside, they'd be writing mountains of bull crap about him and Cassie. Oops, wrong Animorph.

"So," Cassie said, sitting down on a chair while Marco took a seat in the couch next to it. "What's up?"  
"I feel like I'm talking to a therapist..." Marco commented, which caused Cassie to burst into giggles.  
"Well, I can assure you that whatever you tell me won't leave this room." Cassie told Marco.  
"Thanks." Marco said. He took a long, deep sigh. "I don't know what to think, Cassie..." he muttered.  
"It started last night." Marco said, frowning. "Candice broke up with me, and I did something really stupid."  
"Yeah?" Cassie said, glancing at Marco. "What did you do?" Marco laughed nervously, and looked away.  
"Promise me you're not gonna fall out of your seat?" Marco asked. Cassie nodded. "Okay." Marco said.  
"Last night, I..." Marco paused for a moment, not entirely sure he wanted to say this. "I...kissed Ax."  
"You what?" Cassie asked, gaping at Marco in surprise. "I mean, I just never expected that you would..."  
"Neither did I." Marco muttered as he glared daggers at Cassie, who had composed herself.  
"Well, what do you think about it?" Cassie asked Marco, now sitting next to him. "What are you going to do?"  
Marco sighed. "I don't think I really have much of a choice there, whatever I choose. I think Ax ran off on me."

Cassie had to fight a sudden urge to strangle Marco. Whatever he'd done to cause Ax to run off couldn't be good. Besides, Cassie also had a small sneaking suspicion that this whole thing had really scared her short friend for reasons he couldn't admit to himself yet. She had never said anything, but she always kind of thought that it was odd how Marco had such bad luck with girls. Of course, he was a big dork and that didn't entirely help matters if the girl had no sense of humor; but something about it had always irked her. Not that if Marco was attracted to guys...it wouldn't bother her any, but what about Marco himself? Cassie was worried -- what if she was right?  
"Marco, why did he do that?" Cassie inquired, looking at her friend straight in the eye. Marco gulped, Cassie was starting to get a little bit scary...  
"Well, I sort of ran away." Marco mumbled. Cassie couldn't understand what he'd said for her life. "Repeat that?"  
"I. Ran. Away." Marco repeated, refusing to look at Cassie now. Cassie herself was looking at Marco with an extremely troubled expression. It wasn't like him to be this hard on himself...

"Why?" Cassie whispered in a voice that was barely audible. "Why did you run away, Marco?"  
Now it was Marco's turn to look troubled. "I'm not totally sure. It's not like I meant for that to happen, and I wasn't expecting it, and I guess that I kind of got scared." He said.  
"I don't know why I would be, though. That's stupid. So I accidentally kiss a good friend of mine, so what?" Marco was just rambling out loud. "That's no big deal. Really, I'm not into guys in that way or anything. I don't like him or anything like that..." Then he stopped talking. Cassie placed a hand on his shoulder. They sat in the silence for a few moments before there was a knocking on the door. "Ronnie." Cassie said, glancing at Marco.  
"Go ahead, go see your boyfriend." Marco said as he got up off the couch. "Besides, I've got to go find somebody anyway. I have my own things to work out." He added, smiling to himself.  
Cassie gave him one final hug. "Take care of yourself." She told Marco. The knocking got more persistent.  
Cassie practically shoved Marco out the door. "Go on, you idiot! Go!" She scolded him, which got her a weird look from Ronnie. Marco almost fell flat on his face from the force of Cassie's push out the door.  
"What was that all about?" Ronnie asked Cassie, looking totally dumbfounded.  
"Oh, _that_..." Cassie said, winking at Marco as he ran off. "He just had someplace to go."  
"Must've been really important." Ronnie commented.

Important. That was just the word to describe it, Marco thought as he headed off a search for somebody he really needed to talk to...  
This wasn't something he could just try and forget. Cassie wouldn't ever let him. And he was thankful for it. 


	4. Chapter Four When Ax Talks

AUTHOR'S NOTE: A gay bar near a church...I have a thing for quirky settings. **shrug** Anyway, in this chapter we get to meet a character who's going to turn out to be rather important. Yay, the second character I've made up so far (for this story)! And unlike Candice, we actually get to learn about this girl, much to Ax's annoyance. Oh, and when I mentioned turning this into a C/J fic, I think I was a bit misleading. It was going to mostly be the sort of thing where Cassie and Jake still love each other, but they won't get back together. Angst-filled stuff if I do it.  
Oh, all you people care about is the M/A, why do I even bother? But another thing...Ax can somewhat control his tendency to play with sounds now, after all, the guy has morphing human for years by this point. Now he usually does it when he's nervous. (I'm too lazy to type "Ax speech" =P) Okay, I'm going to shut up so you can read the story...

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Be Stupid Chapter 4 - When Ax Talks

So it hadn't been the best decision he'd ever made. 

If you asked Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill at the moment, he would certainly back up that opinion. This was most obviously not his best decision. He was standing out about five blocks from his apartment, all of his Earthly belongings shoved into a pastry box, and he was nearing the two-hour morphing limit. No, this would not be his best decision.  
But what to do now? He could go back to the apartment, perhaps...but Ax didn't want to take the chance that he'd run into Marco again. Not yet. He was not ready for that yet. Ax had to admit he wasn't sure what he would do if the two crossed paths soon...it wasn't likely to be pretty. So that was not an option.  
Neither was becoming a nothlit. He had to find some place he could demorph in...someplace, someplace...  
Then Ax saw the perfect place. It was a bright, multi-colored bar...all right, so it looked very odd, even by human standards. But the place was sure to have a bathroom, and that was the important thing. Ax did not want to attract a crowd by morphing in the street. After the war, there had been the large amount of rich Andalite tourists, of course; but many people were still not accustomed to have aliens possibly roaming the streets. And Ax was not really interested in drawing attention. Not in his mental state. He'd started to calm down a little, but he was still plenty angry enough to be bad news for anyone who got in his way at the moment.  
So, without thinking about it (or noticing the rainbow colored banner above the bar), Ax ran in.  
What the churchgoers across the street would've thought... 

__

What kind of place was _this?_ Ax thought as he entered the bar. The walls were painted in multiple colors -- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and purple. There was some word for it, Ax recalled. Tobias had told him. But he couldn't remember the exact word...he knew it began with 'rain'. Ax personally could not see how a mixture of colors had anything to do with rain. Humans were so strange sometimes...  
But Ax put aside his musings over what a rainbow had to do with rain as he came to what he assumed were the bathrooms. He entered the men's bathroom and checked to see if it empty. Fortunately it was. At least one thing hadn't gone wrong today. So Ax went into one of the stalls and took off all of his clothes expecting for a morphing outfit that he'd bought himself recently. Then he demorphed back into his Andalite body and then quickly remorphed to human and put his outfit back on...yes, he _had_ finally learned to dress himself. After all of these years morphing human, he had to learn how to do it on his own eventually. Rachel, if she were alive, would have been proud.  
_Rachel..._ Ax was surprised that he was thinking about her now. It wasn't as if he had tried to forget his fellow Animorph, but he didn't constantly think of her like some of the others. Like Prince Jake, judging from the media reports of how he still moped over his cousin to this day. Ax was quite certain that Cassie would never forget Rachel, they were at least as close as he...had been...to Tobias. Tobias had gone into complete reclusion after Rachel had died. That had dented Ax's relationship with his _shorm_/nephew for sure. Even Marco had his own may of moping for her, though it wasn't something blatantly obvious. Ax may have been a lot of things, but he was not blind. An overwhelming amount of Marco's various 'starlets' had a striking resemblance to Rachel. Even Ax had noticed that.  
_Which is not hard to notice when you have a near obsession..._ The voice in Ax's head reminded him. Ax shoved the thought to the back of his mind, as he was pressed with two more urgent realizations as he left the bathrooms. 

One, he had _only_ some pocket change and some changes of clothing. Nothing else.  
Two? Now he remembered what the color on the walls was. A rainbow. He also recalled what it symbolized. Aximili-Esgarrouth-Ishtill was in a gay bar.  
Irony gods indeed.

  
With a sigh, the morphed Andalite sat down in one of the seats. It was in the corners, somewhat cut off from all of the other people there. Which was good, because Ax was really not in the mood to deal with anyone.  
Now that he had calmed down a bit, Ax realized how stupid he was acting over what had happened. There was no need to overreact like he had. Right?  
Ax just dropped his head on the table. He hadn't really gotten any sleep last night, thanks to a certain unmentionable idiot. Maybe that's all he needed, some sleep to clear things up in his mind. Maybe he could come up with some logical idea of what to do. With a long a sigh, Ax shut his eyes. It'd be nice to not think for a while...  
"You look like you could do with some cheering up." Ax heard a woman's voice say. His eyes snapped open and he looked up at her, genuinely uninterested. She wasn't exceptionally tall or beautiful. She was actually quite short, and attractive; but not drop-dead gorgeous. Her shoulder-length hair was died a shocking shade of bright blue. She was wearing a denim jacket three sizes too big for her and it was coated in buttons and pins. Her eyes were a sort of jade green.  
Ax didn't respond, instead he just turned his gaze away from the young woman. He wasn't in the mood to be friendly, to say the least. 

What, boyfriend dump you or something? Ax heard a teasing voice unexpectedly echo in his head. The young woman grinned at him in an annoyingly superior manner.  
"Didn't expect to be talking to an Andalite, Mr. Morose and Miserable?" Without asking or anything of the sort the woman sat herself down next to Ax, who appeared stunned.  
"My name's probably a bit hard for you to pronounce..." The young woman said thoughtfully. "So call me Tilopid, okay?"  
Ax smirked to himself as he answered this mysterious (or crazy) girl. Try me.  
"You're an Andalite too?" Tilopid shouted in surprise, causing almost half of the bar to give the duo curious and not entirely friendly glares. Tilopid looked around for a moment at the crowd. "Oops." She whispered.  
Giggling, she turned back to face Ax. "So, what brings you to this neck of the woods, Mister Andalite Boy?"  
Ax raised an eyebrow. "You're not exactly a traditional person, are you?" He commented. Tilopid shook her head.  
"If I was what do you think I'd be doing here?" She asked. "And besides, you haven't answered my question."  
In the corner of one of her green eyes, Tilopid noticed that she and Ax were still the main focus of the bar. She frowned and sighed. "Oh, get a life! Can't you have a conversation in this place with _everyone_ listening in?" Tilopid shouted, glaring daggers at the crowd. "Geez, people." She muttered, rolling her eyes.  
"So what was it? Your guy kick you out of the house, or was he a total jackass to you?" Tilopid asked casually, as if she hadn't unleashed her temper on a bar of innocent people.  
"Neither one of those, really. Ally. Eee..." Ax mumbled. He had not been intending on talking to this girl, but there was something appealing about the fact that she did seem concerned -- or at least interested. And she was persistent. Ax had a small hunch that if he didn't open up, this girl was going to force him to whether he liked it or not. Her cockiness reminded him, if just a little bit. of Rachel...it was an odd feeling.  
Ax found that he didn't really mind, though. 

"Then what? It's not everyday you see some guy come running in here and then just mope around."  
Ax slouched down in his seat and closed his eyes again. He sighed deeply. "I guess it isn't-tuh..."  
"I am not really sure what happened." Ax said, more to himself than to the Andalite girl. "One of my friends had come over during the night, and the next morning..." Ax bit his lip as he considered what to say. "Well, I'll just say that something happened and my friend ended up running out of the house." Ax sighed deeply again.  
"You slept with him?" Tilopid screeched, staring at Ax in shock. For a moment Ax didn't say anything, he just gaped at her. "No!" He protested the moment his mind kicked in. "No, no!" Ax repeated, his face flushed.  
"Then to be blunt, what _did_ happen?" Tilopid asked, giving Ax a look that clearly said she didn't believe what he'd just said. "Nothing like what you just suggested." Ax muttered. Tilopid laughed at Ax, but she smiled.   
She almost missed what he said next. He mumbled, as if embarrassed, "We just kissed."  
"That's it?" Tilopid asked, looking surprised. "Is your friend a homophobe or something?" Ax shook his head. "Not that I know of. It's just that..." he started to say before he got interrupted. "He didn't know about you?"  
"Something like that." Ax said, smiling. Tilopid sighed and placed a hand on Ax's shoulder, much to his surprise.  
"I'm sorry." She said, sounding genuinely empathetic. "I had an experience like that once." Then Tilopid put a finger to her lips and she suddenly looked thoughtful. "Though I have to admit, it almost sounds as if this friend of yours is hiding something, if you catch my drift." She mused aloud to Ax, her expression changing to a grin.  
_What?_ Ax said, staring up at Tilopid, too shocked to actually speak. "I'm just guessing." She admitted. "Hey..." Tilopid said as she completely changing the subject, "what's your name, you never told me."  
Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. Ax answered, not at all surprised when Tilopid's hand flew to her mouth.  
"_The_ Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill?" Tilopid choked out. Ax nodded. Tilopid practically wilted into her seat.  
"You have got to be kidding me..." She whispered. Ax smiled. "I am not."  
"Then..." Tilopid said to herself, and then let out a victory whoop. "I always _knew_ that guy was gay!"  
"Jake Berenson, leader of the infamous Animorphs, is gay. How ironic..." Tilopid said. Then she laughed.  
"Um, I think you are mistaken..." Ax whispered, but Tilopid completely ignored him. However, she did pull him up out of his seat. "Come on, we've gotta go find this 'friend' of yours, buddy!" She declared enthusiastically.  
Tilopid had already started to run out the door while poor Ax grabbed his stuff. Rushing to the window to catch up with the enthused girl, Ax saw her suddenly crash into a guy who had been running past the bar. That was when he gasped. Not because of Tilopid crashing into someone (though he was worried for her safety) but it had much more to deal with the fact that he had recognized the guy she'd bowled into. It hadn't even taken Ax a second to realize who it was, who it could only be... 

Marco. 

Note: Just thought I would clarify...yes, Tilopid is a human nothlit. And she does like girls, if anyone wondered. 


	5. Chapter Five When Marco Confesses

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm so sorry, guys, but I got a small case of writer's block. That's why this chapter took so long...and there's some hint in this chapter of where the plot is going, but it won't really make sense until the next chapter. If anybody's been wondering, this story _isn't_ AU. It'll make sense near the end...which I'm really not sure when that'll happen. But no hints, I want to surprise you! Okay...here we go, story time. Not like you people want to read more of this anyway. =P  
Ah, and before I forget, review responses are at the end of the chapter. Thank you!

****

Be Stupid Chapter Five: When Marco Confesses

CRASH!  
Marco groaned having found himself suddenly flung onto the cement sidewalk. It seemed like he was underneath somebody, but he couldn't be sure. All he could really think of at the moment was the throbbing pain in his head.  
"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Marco heard some woman frantically apologizing. It didn't help his head at all...  
"I'm all right." Marco groaned, and got up to his feet, holding his pounding head. Now that his eyes were staring to work properly again, he got a good look at the woman who had crashed into him. She was...a tad eccentric, to say the least. Of course, with bright blue hair, how could she not be eccentric? She was cute, though.  
Despite the fact that, judging from her clothes, she had to be nuts...she was cute.  
"I'm so sorry...I just got a little caught up in something..." The woman rambled. Marco shook his head and thrust his palm in front of the woman's face. "Look," he said. "I'm fine, nobody's hurt. You really don't have to apologize."  
The woman looked hurt and maybe a little bit angry. "Well, I believe it's only the right thing to do, you know."  
Marco sighed. "Okay, _okay._ It's just that I'm looking for somebody...I really don't have the time to do this."  
"You're looking for someone?" The woman repeated, sounding amused. "That's kind of ironic." When she saw Marco's confused expression, she went on. "Well, I'm helping a friend of mine look for someone..." The woman looked behind her. "Oh! There he is! Aximili, over here!" She called out and started waving her hand wildly.  
_Aximili?_ Marco thought. He went into shock for a moment, until the woman pulled him back by asking curiously, "What is your name, anyway?"  
Marco shook his head violently to clear his thoughts. "Um...Marco. My name's Marco. What's yours?"  
The woman smiled at him, her bright green eyes nearly glowing. "My full name is Tilopid-Eridks-Tusdne."  
_Oh,_ Marco thought. _So she's an Andalite. Is that how she knows Ax? I wonder exactly how well she knows him..._ Marco scowled. He didn't want to think about it, he really didn't. 

In a moment, Marco stopped thinking about it. He had to fight a not-so-small urge to run away _again_, and yet he stood fixed on the spot. With a gulp, Marco did actually manage to speak, to his amazement.  
"Hey, Ax." He said with a small wave of his hand.  
"Hello, Marco. Oh." Ax stuttered.  
Tilopid blinked and then looked at Marco and back to Ax and back again. "Wait a sec...Ax, you know this guy?"  
Marco watched Ax just nod in reply, his eyes not even _on_ his companion, whose hand flew to her mouth.  
"Then...oh my gosh!" She gasped, then immediately turned to Ax with eyes ablaze. "Aximili, why didn't you correct me? I was going to go chasing after the wrong Animorph!" Tilopid accused. Ax didn't respond, and it made Marco a bit nervous. A bit as in so nervous that his palms were getting covered in sweat. It wasn't that he minded, but he wasn't used to keeping eye contact with Ax for _this_ long. He...didn't mind it at all, but it was odd. Different. _I guess I'm plunging into a whole new definition of different._ Marco thought, feeling oddly giddy. Marco had to admit that while he himself had joked about being in this situation, he'd never thought...  
Well...okay, it was fun to joke about those tabloids and such that constantly accused him of being gay. But it wasn't like they were true! _At least, I hadn't thought so..._ Marco admitted to himself. 

Tilopid sighed in exasperation and gave Ax a sidelong glare, noticing that his attention had most definitely _not_ been on her. Would you two talk to each other already? She snapped. Both guys gaped at her.  
I swear, you're both idiots...but never mind. I'll leave you two boys alone, all right? Tilopid said, disappearing back into the back with a wave of her hand.  
Marco opened his mouth to make a wisecrack, but found that he couldn't talk. _Marco, you're an idiot. You run all around town looking for a guy and now you can't talk?_ Marco frowned at the voice in the back of his head, starting to get really irritated at it. However, it was Ax that broke the silence.  
"You know that if a reporter found you here, this could ruin your reputation." The Andalite commented with a hint of a smile. Marco looked at him with a somewhat disbelieving look. "Ax, did you just try to make a joke?"  
Marco sighed. "I'm dreaming. I'm having some sort of very screwed up dream, aren't I?" He declared dramatically.  
"If you _are_ dreaming, we would be dreaming the same dream. That is quite unlikely, so I doubt you are dreaming, Marco." Ax countered. Marco laughed. "Okay, so I guess I'm not dreaming." He said with a sort of smile.  
There was another slight silence between the two, and then Marco wrenched up his courage to say what he'd intended to. "Look, Ax..." Marco started, and then took in a nervous gulp of breath before he went on.  
"I'm sorry about being such a jerk. I shouldn't have run out on you like that...but I've been thinking and I think I did it because..." Marco nervously ran his hand through his hair, thinking of how to word what he was going to say next.  
"I think I like you, Ax." He said, being met with silence. 

__

You idiot! The little voice in the back of Marco's mind shouted. _You're going to be lucky if he even forgives you! Why the heck did you say that?_  
Marco had to agree the voice in his head had a point. Oh man, this wasn't a smart move...  
"Do you?" Ax asked suddenly, softly, surprisingly. Marco thought it over. Did he really like Ax? Then he realized...  
Marco nodded. "Yes." He said. "Yes, I do."  
Ax was staring at him in shock, obviously stricken with a lack of words. He wasn't even moving.  
After about maybe three minutes, Marco starting waving his hand frantically in front of Ax's face.  
"Hello, Earth to Ax-man? You there? Anybody home?" No answer. _I think I've killed him..._ Marco thought.  
Ax shook his head furiously, as if to spite Marco's thought. "I am conscious." Ax finally said, much to Marco's relief.  
"That's good. You were starting to worry me, Ax-man." Marco said. Ax seemed to smile at that.  
"Thank you for your concern." Ax said. Marco laughed. "No problem, Ax." Suddenly, Tilopid emerged from the bar.  
"Hey, Aximili, Marco! Have you guys made up yet?" She asked as she walked towards the two.  
"You're not blunt or anything, are you?" Marco teased her. She scowled at him. "That's not an answer."  
Ax coughed to get their attention. "I believe I need to demorph. But to answer your question, yes."  
Then he glanced at Marco. "I am correct, right?" He asked. Marco nodded, smiling. "Yeah, you're right."  
Tilopid and Marco waited outside (Marco fending off questions from Tilopid) until Ax came out of the bar, back in his human morph, and then Tilopid stopped bugging Marco. To his immense relief.  
"Oh no!" She shouted suddenly, glancing at her watch. "Oh crap, oh crap! It's past twelve! My girlfriend is gonna kill me!" Tilopid panicked. "Oh damn...well, um, I'm happy for you guys. Hope I see you around here sometime! Bye!"  
Then she ran off at a superhuman speed. 

"That girl is totally nuts." Marco said. Ax nodded. "Yes, I believe that's possible."  
"Um..." Marco frowned. "Look, I've gonna have to get going...I have an interview around one, but I guess that...well, do you have anything planned for tonight?" He asked nervously. Ax blinked. "Tonight? No, I do not."  
"Well, you will. I'll call you once I get home and think of something...if that's all right with you..." Marco said.  
Ax laughed. "Of course." Marco smiled a shaky smile. "Okay, then. Well, see you some time tonight then!"  
Marco and Ax then went their separate ways home, Marco privately wondering what Cassie would think of this. 

**To The Fans (Fans? I'm delusionial...)**

Forlay - Really? That was a funny line? I just threw that in on a whim! I'm glad you like Tilopid. I was wondering if people were going to hate her, since she's very...well, I can't describe her. I'm going to try to not make this story too much of a downer, but it's going to be a little depressing sooner or later, though.

Lauren - Yeah, she's totally crazy! I thought the bar thing was pretty funny too.

Kronos - Wow, I have another person who likes my story! I'm shocked, amazed, flabbergasted...overdramatic...anyway, I hope this chapter didn't dissapoint and I will keep writing. Also, thanks for supporting me with the J/C thing. 


	6. Chapter Six When Ax Hears Things

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yay...lotsa foreshadowing, some of it subtle, most of it not. This is actually one of the much, much longer chapters of this story. Chalk it up to an excess of ideas, since I haven't written for while. But here we are! The story behind Pirateland? Truthfully?  
....I wanted to see Marco in a pirate hat. Yes, I know I'm weird. I've just realized something...Ax has been living on Earth for at least three months now and I have absolutely no idea how he gets his money. I need to invent a job for this poor bum! Anybody have any ideas? Oh, and I wrote a kind of romantic kiss in this chapter. I feel proud of myself.  
Why ask, not like anyone reads this...**shakes head** I'm just kidding, folks. =)

The first thing Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil did was sleep. He had demorphed, closed the door of his apartment, and then finally slept. He hadn't gotten but four hours of sleep these past two days.  
And sleep was such a relief. After the last two days, everything that had happened, Ax really needed to sleep.  
Not that he couldn't keep thinking about everything that happened, he thought with a slight smile. But why not save that for later, when his mind was fully alert?  
Also, sleep could distract him from the one thing that bothered him about the past two days...a strange, large, rasping voice that seemed to be calling him.   
Maybe sleep would even make it stop, that was the most likely cause...

Right?

----------------

It was sometime later when Ax was woken up by the sound of a ringing phone. He'd gotten it installed a few weeks ago, something left behind by the previous tenants who had lived here. The phone had been viciously ripped from its cords, a reminder of "an angry husband", the landlady had mumbled. She hadn't offered any more information, though Ax could guess at her underlying meaning. Ax had been thinking he should have a phone, just in case of an emergency. So after a month of just plain being lazy about it, he finally got it installed...which had been a rather annoying experience, since the man who had come to install it was having trouble with what was a fairly simple task. _I could have installed it myself, if not for the legal problems that would present..._ Ax thought to himself.  
At the moment, the phone was ringing like a cruel siren screaming "Wake up!" By the time he had mostly finished his morph to human, the answering machine (an old one Marco had given him, ironically) had already caught the message.  
"Hello? This is E.T. phoning home. Well, since you're obviously not home..." Ax snatched the black receiver of the phone and placed it next to his ear. "Hello." Ax mumbled unintelligibly into the phone.  
"Wow. You're either drunk or I woke you up." Marco commented. "Uh...I did wake you up, right, Ax-man?"  
"Yes, I'm awake...but not entirely. Eee..." Ax half-said, half-mumbled. Marco seemed to find that amusing.  
"Look, I'm sorry about that. But, why I called was that...well...do you feel like going anywhere tonight?"  
It took a while for Ax's brain to process those words. "Perhaps when I am fully awake, yes, I would like that."  
Marco laughed. "Try some coffee. Well, I'll be there in about twenty minutes. Is that good for you?" He asked.  
"Yes, twenty minutes should be enough for me to be fully awake." Ax replied, this time speaking coherently.  
"Fully awake and _dressed_, I'd hope. Of course..." Ax threatened to hang up before Marco could finish. After saying a quick goodbye, Ax did hang up. He had to wonder how in the world his short companion could be so perky...he'd had even less sleep than Ax himself had. Wait..what had he suggested?

Coffee. It had to be coffee.

----------------

After spending a few minutes searching for any slightly clean clothes, Ax finally salvaged a pair of jeans and a pale blue shirt from within the recesses of his home. Then he morphed into human, and reflected for a moment that he was hardly ever in his true Andalite body anymore, excepting when he slept. He would even find himself spending the majority of the day in morph, sometimes very dangerously nearing the two-hour morphing limit.  
Though he told himself it was for reasons of both protection and privacy -- he didn't want to draw too much attention to himself, already quite aware of the unwanted publicity being a member of the Animorphs could bring. Not even mentioning both the suspicion and rampant curiosity he got for being, plain and simple, an Andalite.  
Then Ax heard the voice, and felt his body freeze. Loud yet quiet, eloquent but rasping, it spoke to him.

_YOU FOOL, EVERYDAY YOU SPEND YOU'RE MORE HUMANOID. YOU MAY WELL AS BECOME ONE.  
ENJOY IT WHILE IT LASTS. NOTHING LASTS FOREVER..._

With some violent shakes of his head and a shiver quite unrelated to the weather, Ax snapped back to reality. He forced the voice, and it's subtle threats, from his mind. He had something more important to think about, as it was. Ax set to finding his shoes.

In another fifteen minutes -- minutes Ax had used to clean out his pastry box -- he heard knocking at the door.  
He went to open the wooden door, feeling more than slightly nervous of all a sudden...then he suddenly felt that feeling sink.  
"Oh, were you excepting someone, sonny boy?" Teased Ax's gruff and old landlady. Then her face turned stony.  
"Maybe if you spent less time on impressing the girlies you could pay your rent, you lazy bum." She scolded, and Ax caught her mumbling to herself, "Hell, he's probably a fruit..." Without realizing he wasn't supposed to have heard that, Ax prompted the landlady. "What do you mean by a fruit? I am not a type of food."  
The landlady slowly turned and looked at Ax for a long time. "You really live a sheltered life, don't you?" Ax had no idea how to reply.  
Luckily, the landlady explained for him. "You know, a fruit. A man who..." Ax's landlady paused for a moment, she didn't like discussing uncomfortable subjects. "Enjoys the company of other men, you see."

Ax saw what she meant, but could only nod in reply. The landlady, very eager to change the subject, bluntly said, "You owe me $300 bucks by Friday, mister. I don't care how you get it, but I'd hate to kick you out...you're one of the nice ones." Ax nodded and told the woman repeatedly that he would get her the money.  
"Um, hello?" Both Ax and his grumpy landlady looked past the open door to see Marco standing there with a look of extreme confusion his face. "Who are you?" Demanded Ax's landlady, marching up to poor Marco.  
"He's a friend." Ax quickly answered, and walked out the door. "Now, I'd like it if you left now, since I won't be home for a while." Ax told his landlady. After much resistance, she walked out of the apartment.  
"Can we please go now?" Ax asked.

----------------

Much to Ax's relief, Marco had agreed and they were now driving to...well, come to think of it...  
"Where are we going?" Ax asked the short one, who was now driving the car. "You had not told me that piece of information."  
Marco rolled his eyes. "That's because it's a surprise, Ax-man." Ax felt a deep sense of dread at that answer, but pressed no further. After all, he was a warrior. He could withstand whatever horror was going to present itself.  
Moments later, the car ended up in front of what Ax saw was a very large plot of land covered in various strange looking contraptions that held screaming humans inside. Or in other words, an amusement park.  
"Welcome to Pirateland." Marco announced. Without any further adieu, he forced Ax out of the car and dragged him to the rides.

After riding the log ride, the Tilt-a-Whirl, avoiding the roller coasters almost religiously, and getting many weird looks from people, and then riding the log ride again, both the boys decided they needed drinks. So they chose a place right next to Ye Olde Gift Shoppe, and then Marco went to get some sodas. Ax sighed and slouched down in his chair, replaying the memory of that strange and threatening voice. Was he losing his mind? After all the events of the war, had he finally lost his grip on sanity? Or was it something else? The Ellimist, perhaps?  
With a heavy sigh, Ax finally sat up straight and looked behind him and saw Marco heading towards the table with drinks. Ax smiled...but then he grew stiff again.

NOTHING _LASTS FOREVER, AXIMILI-ESGARROUTH-ISTHIL. FOR NO ONE IS ANYTHING ETERNAL, ANDALITE, OR HUMAN, OR YEERK. AND I WILL MAKE CERTAIN THAT FOR YOU, THIS WILL STAY THE TRUTH. WATCH YOUR BACK._

Shaking more violently than ever, Ax started to hyperventilate as he finally slammed back to the present. He had to fight an urge to collapse onto the table. Gripping the table tightly, Ax's shaking stopped. He let out a soft, trembling breath. He heard the sound of footsteps, of somebody running.  
"Hey, Ax-man! Ax! Are you all right?" Ax nodded slowly, still not completely in control of his body.  
"It must be the heat. Perhaps I should demorph?" Marco nodded, distractedly. Then to Ax's surprise, he felt himself being lifted from the chair. Then his surprise turned to irritation as Marco more or less started leading him to the bathrooms. "I can still walk." Ax hissed, feeling quite undignified. Marco laughed. "You honestly expect me to believe that?

----------------

Ax was feeling much better now, having demorphed and morphed once again. He was nearly fully dressed when he heard Marco asking if he needed help. "No, I do not." Ax answered, "I am not certain you would _help_ me, per se."  
Ax heard him laughing at that, nervous laughter, but laughter all the same. When Ax opened the door to the bathroom stall and walked out, the laughter had stopped.  
"I guess this means no more amusement parks for us, huh?" Marco said, half-serious, half-joking. Ax had no reply to that, but then Marco kept on talking. "I'll drive you home." Ax felt disappointed. Aside from when he had nearly fainted, it had been a nice day. He hadn't wanted it to end yet...  
"Could we go to the gift shop first?" Ax asked suddenly, causing Marco to look up at him. Ax sighed and leaned up against the stall before he spoke again.  
"I would like a souvenir of some kind, since this is a somewhat special occasion..." Ax suddenly turned his attention to his shoes as he continued, "But I also do not wish for it to end yet." There was a moment of awkward silence then. Then Ax started making his way out, right before Marco spoke. "It doesn't have to end yet."  
Everything seemed to slow down, but then it sped up again at an alarming rate as the two felt their lips connect. It had started soft, gentle, but then it started to change. So very different from the first time this happened, something accidental and nearly terrifying. But now, it had evolved beyond that. It was something that was fiery, something breathtaking, something that...snapping to their senses, they broke it off. Neither of them moved for a moment.

"Well..." Marco said, letting loose a shaky breath. "Let's go to the gift shop, and then I'll drive you home."  
"Yes. It would be best if I came home soon. I may miss the Brady Brunch reruns." Ax said.

----------------

Four minutes later, Marco and Ax got back into the car, wearing identical pirates hats that had a picture of a skull on the front, and the words 'Pirateland Amusement Park' on the back. Marco declared he was wearing it under much protest. They also had bought a pair of wooden swords, which were now in the backseat.  
It wasn't a long ride from Pirateland to Ax's apartment and back, maybe 20 minutes, give or take a few. Halfway through, Ax decided to voice something he'd been wondering about, ever since that morning two days ago, but particularly now.  
"I know you are busy driving, but I would like to ask you something." Ax said.  
"What?" Marco asked, just barely missing a red light.  
"I am wondering if we are going to tell the truth." Ax stated, looking away so he wouldn't see the expression on Marco's face. There was a pause in the conversation for just a moment. "I don't know. Should we?" Marco asked.  
"If we keep going to places, like we did today, people will eventually notice." Ax said, now looking up at the sky -- Marco's car didn't have a top. Unnoticed by Ax, Marco nodded in silent agreement.  
"That's true. But there are a lot of things to consider...I have my career, and if we came out, I'm not sure you'd be welcomed back into Andalite society with open arms." Marco said, mostly thinking aloud. Ax snorted at the mention of his homeworld, surprising both Marco and himself.  
"I do not wish to stop having your company, despite that." Ax replied, surprised by the realization he was being completely sincere about that. But he was shocked again when he heard Marco softly whisper, "Neither do I."

Then suddenly, Marco stopped. Ax realized that they were back at his apartment. Ax got out of the car, reluctantly.  
"I'll be seeing you sometime, Marco." Ax said.  
"Yeah...later, Ax-man!" Marco said, waving goodbye as he drove off.  
Ax stayed and watched until Marco drove off, a small speck in the distance. But to his horror, Ax almost swore he heard a loud and rasping laughing in the back of his mind...

**To the Fans [insert upbeat music here]**

Doctor Strangelove - Wow, another M/A fan! I'm glad you like the fic! And Tilopid will show up again, in the next chapter

Forlay - Wow, I do have fans! **eyes fill with tears** I'm so happy! Um, to the review...wow, I actually thought up Tilopid's hair color on a whim! And I'll try my best to keep the good lines. And I think the fic is going to start taking an unexpected turn... 


	7. Chapter Seven When Marco Gets Interview...

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long, I guess I got...well...preoccupied with family matters. It's a long story. But here we go, chapter 7! I hope you guys like it! And yes, this voice is gonna do some damage. But I ain't revealin' nothin' yet! I just figured something out -- I hate coffee, but almost everybody in this story seems to drink it. Weird, huh?  
I just thought I'd mention something Jake says in this chapter -- I do think that Jake and Cassie probably did stay good friends after they broke up. That might be naive of me, but still, that's my opinion. Just thought I'd mention that so no one gets confused. There is a lack of Ax in this chapter, and I'm sorry, I'll make up for it next time! 

Marco screamed and fell out of his bed, a failed attempt at trying to reach the snooze button.  
What time was it, anyway? The red digits on his alarm clock seemed to be glaring back at him, and shouting, "It's 9:45. Get up! Get up or I'll sick a poodle on you! I mean it!"  
So Marco got up. He knew there was something important about it almost being ten, but he couldn't exactly remember what. In the meantime, he decided finding a pair of pants would probably be a good idea. 

Five minutes two cups of coffee later, and now with a shirt on, Marco heard a faint ringing somewhere far from the living room (where he was busy downing his third cup of coffee). So he put his coffee mug down on top of the TV and went his merry, sluggish way to the phone.  
When he picked up the receiver, he heard Jake's voice. And he also felt any sleepiness he still had go away, replaced with a slight fear of his best friend. "Marco, _where_ have you been?" The former leader of the Animorphs asked. Nobody could ignore how pissed Jake sounded at that moment. Especially not poor Marco. He gulped.  
"What d'you mean, big guy? I haven't left town or anything." Marco asked, his voice sounding strangely little.  
"Marco, if you haven't left town, why didn't you answer any of my calls?" Jake asked calmly.  
"Wait a sec...you left me calls? Oh _crap!_ I haven't checked my messages!" Marco freaked out.  
"Guess that answers my question." Jake muttered. Marco didn't hear him, though, because he'd practically leaped on the answering machine to play back his messages over the last three days. In his excitement, he'd dropped the phone.  
There were two messages from Jake, one saying that he was sorry he hadn't gotten Marco and he'd call back some other time. The other one was asked what the heck was he up to, was he out partying or something? And if so, Jake reminded Marco that he could get Cassie to hound him for weeks about it.  
"Marco? Marco, you there? Marco!" Jake growled, and Marco picked up his phone again. "Sorry." Marco said.  
"You should be. Well, I called you to remind you that you, Cassie, and me have an interview with Time today. In about fifteen minutes." Jake told Marco.  
"Jake, you've gotta be kidding me!" Marco shouted into the receiver. "I'm not even dressed yet!"  
"No joke, so get down here. Lucky you, they probably won't mind too much if you show up late." Jake told Marco. "And Marco? Tell me what you were up to this weekend when you get here!" Jake added, almost laughing. Then he hung up, leaving Marco to get himself decent and to where he needed to be as quick as possible.  
All Marco could think was, _Tell you what I've been up to? Jake, I'm not sure you want to know._

It didn't take long for Marco to get to the office where the interview was being conducted, even though he had to call Jake again to know where the heck it was. After throwing on a pair of sneakers, grabbing his cell just in case, and breaking the world record for putting on deodorant and brushing your teeth at the same time, Marco was out of the door and speeding like a demon. He was about fifteen minutes late.  
And now he was looking at a slightly peeved Jake, a relieved Cassie, and...a familiar looking young bluehead.  
"Glad you decided to show up, mon ami." Tilopid said, barely hiding a smirk. Both Jake and Cassie looked over at Tilopid, then back at Marco, and then back again to their freaky blue-haired reporter. "_You_ know _her?_"  
"We've met." Tilopid said, grinning the most evil grin Marco had ever seen. He felt himself break into a sweat thinking about the tons of questions that she could ask him, questions that could ruin his career, questions she would of course ask.  
Jake gave Marco a look that clearly said "Explain!" and Cassie shot him a questioning and slightly worried glance.  
"I'll explain later." Marco said, shooting Tilopid a glare to punctuate his point. She smiled mischievously.  
"Of course. I'll try to stay out of your private lives as much as possible." She told the three ex-Animorphs.  
"Now, let the games begin!" Tilopid shouted. Then she pulled out her pen and a pad of paper and started to ask. 

---------------- 

After about twenty minutes of questions ranging from what their favorite color was to matters of outerspace trade, the interview was over. True to her word, Tilopid had avoided getting to any of the Animorphs' personal lives too much. She did ask some questions about their love lives -- whom were they dating, for example. That one got her a very noticeable scowl from Marco. Both Tilopid and Cassie had to contain their giggles, and Jake just looked like he wished he knew what the heck everyone else knew. Then since Marco said he wasn't dating anyone (which was sort of true -- neither he or Ax had actually said they were dating yet), Tilopid decided to ask if he had any romantic interests.  
Then Cassie really did stifle a laugh, and Marco enjoyed a private little fantasy of choking Tilopid.  
"I haven't got anyone right now...you free this Saturday?" Marco asked, enjoying the ticked look in Tilopid's eyes.  
"Sorry, I prefer the company of women." Tilopid replied. "Just like you, right?" She added with a none-too-subtle wink.  
Marco gave Tilopid a You're Dead look. Jake raised an eyebrow and Cassie had hidden her face behind her hand.  
Tilopid smiled coyly at Marco and then declared the interview was over, but they still had about ten minutes left here so they could use it to discuss any private matters of their own. She'd be on the fifth floor with a vending machine if they wanted to discuss editing anything with her.  
So naturally, the moment the door closed, Jake announced something to Marco. 

"Marco," Jake said, his voice gravely serious. "I've changed my mind. I don't want know how you met that girl. Crazy attracts crazy."  
_Wrong person, Jake._ Marco thought to himself. _But if it weren't, you do have a point..._  
After a long period of awkward silence passed, Marco felt Cassie put her hand on his shoulder. Jake blinked.  
"Are you two dating, is that it?" He asked. Marco gulped, but he shook his head. Then Jake laughed, making the moment even more tense. "You don't have to hide it. Cassie and I aren't together anymore, and you two are my best friends. If you're happy together, I don't have a problem." Jake said. Marco swallowed and took a deep breath.  
"Jake, I'm _not_ dating Cassie." Marco saw Jake's expression turn to one of total confusion. He had to explain. Eventually, he was going to have to tell Jake, wasn't he? He just hadn't expected it to be so soon...  
"And the chick that interviewed us wasn't lying, she does like girls. I met her in a gay bar." Marco said.  
Jake stared at Marco for a long time until he spoke. "So you're...gay?"  
"No, I'm bi. I just didn't realize it until lately...I guess I always knew, probably part of why I spent so much time going after girls. Not like I needed that on top of fighting the Yeerks, huh? But I like girls _and_ guys. And as much as I love Cassie, it's not in a romantic way." Marco looked at Cassie. "No offense, right?" Cassie nodded. 

Jake frowned and looked between the two people he was probably the closest to on the planet. "Cassie, you knew?"  
Cassie bit her lip and nodded. Marco sighed and looked away from Jake, noticing the hurt look in his eyes. "Look, big guy, don't take it the wrong way...I just had a, um, emergency, and Cassie was the only one who could get me off my stupid ass." Marco explained, using his patented 'don't hurt me, I'm cute!' grin.  
Jake shook his head, but the hurt look in his eyes had faded a little. "Okay, as long as I know I guess I can't complain too much." Then to Marco's alarm, a mischievous look flooded Jake's eyes. "Anybody you like right now?"  
Marco took a step backwards away from Jake. He was going to go to Cassie for protection until he heard her.  
"Yeah Marco, anyone you want to tell us about?" She teased. "Like, oh, perhaps..." But before she could finish...  
"Jake, I'd suggest getting a chair. I don't want you to fall or anything." Marco advised the big brunette.  
"Why?" Jake asked, holding on to the back of a chair. Marco smirked. "Because I'm dating Ax."  
_"What?"_ Jake lost his grip on the chair and only grabbed the chair leg right before he hit his head on it.  
Marco and Cassie went over to him to make sure he hadn't seriously hurt himself. Except for banging his head on the floor, Jake was okay. Jake sat up and looked at Marco. "That wasn't funny."  
"What wasn't funny? You, oh great and fearless leader, falling on your butt? I disagree, that was funny. Or do you mean the other thing I said? Because that _wasn't_ a joke." Marco replied, more than slightly hacked off.  
"I meant falling on my butt." Jake said sheepishly. Then Cassie and Marco helped the poor guy off his butt. 

After a few more minutes of teasing from Jake and a couple zillion congrats from Cassie, the happy little group of three had to get out of the room. Jake was the first to go, he had a date that night with a girl named Sharon, which left Marco and Cassie alone. "You don't happen to have a phone on you, do you?" Cassie asked Marco.  
Marco tossed her his cell phone that he'd kept in his pocket. "Why?" He asked, noticing a blush on Cassie's face.  
"It's Ronnie...he likes to check on me." Cassie admitted, looking embarrassed. Marco looked at her for a moment.  
"Because you're hanging out with me and Jake?" He asked, and Cassie shrugged. "Kind of. I don't think he trusts Jake." She said softly. Marco frowned, but he figured he'd better not get into it -- even if he thought it was stupid.  
_Cassie wouldn't cheat on him for one thing, and things really are done with her and Jake._ Marco thought to himself. Watching as Cassie told Ronnie where she was, and that the interview had gone just fine, even though the lady that had interviewed them was strange and sneaky at best. Marco had to agree completely with Cassie on that.  
"Well, thanks for letting me borrow your phone, Marco." Cassie said, handing Marco back his cell.  
"Yeah, no problem." Marco said, and waved. "See you around sometime!" Marco waited for a moment before he said it.  
"Cassie?" He asked, and she looked up. "Thanks for helping me out." Cassie smiled at him.  
"What are friends for?" She asked before she went out the door, probably to meet with Ronnie. 

---------------- 

Marco went out a little while after her, contemplating something. He'd just come out to his best friend. Not too long ago, he couldn't have even imagined that happening -- but here he was. Life was the most insane thing ever created.

  
But now he was remembering yesterday, when he and Ax had been talking about whether or not they were going to tell the truth. He had said that there were a lot of things to consider before, and if, they were going to come out. That was true and he knew it. But still...he'd told Jake. He'd meant all of what he'd said. He did like both guys and girls. That was no lie. And...he did like Ax. A lot. He'd tried to lie about that to himself, but it hadn't worked. Did he really want to pretend he was still the great and infamous skirt-chaser he was made out as? Did he want to have to look at the tabloids and still laugh when they suggested he had "other tastes"? Truthfully, he wasn't sure.  
Marco got a jolt of surprise when he realized he was in front of the elevator, which was wide open and thankfully empty. He stepped in and then he hesitated. He could go to the first floor right now, go home and keep on pondering. Then again, he remembered that Tilopid had said she would be on the fifth floor right now. She probably still was typing up her interview, assuming she wasn't still occupied with the snack machine. _Now or later?_ He asked himself.  
_You do know what kind of things'll be waiting for you if you come out._ Marco's conscious reminded him.  
And he did -- his fans would probably be split in two: those who supported him, those who hated him. His mom and dad had always seemed like fairly open-minded people, but people can be very funny sometimes. It would hurt like hell if they did decide to ditch him because of who he was. His friends all now knew, really, excepting Tobias.  
Then of course there was Ax to consider in all of this. He and Ax needed to actually talk about this first.  
But in the meantime... 

Marco pressed the button labeled 5. A few seconds later, the door opened again and Marco walked out. He walked down the hall for a while, searching and searching for a vending machine. After two or three minutes he was about to give up, until...Fancy meeting you here. Marco heard a girl's voice greet him. He now saw Tilopid, carrying her pad and a handful of candy bars, with pencil in her hair. She was somehow managing to eat one of them. Marco assumed that was why she was using thought speak. Feel like discussing the interview, am I right? Tilopid asked. Then she swallowed her candy bar  
"I just want to know when you're going to have it ready." Marco told her. "_Then_ we might discuss it."  
"The interview should be out in about three weeks and I should have it typed by tomorrow." He was informed.  
Marco nodded, mostly to himself. "Could I have your number?" He asked. Tilopid frowned and pulled a pencil out. She scribbled something on the pad, ripped it off and handed it to Marco. "The top one is my number at the work, the bottom is my home number. Just leave a message if you can't reach me." The blue haired crazy told the short man.  
Marco nodded and stuffed the piece of paper into his jean pocket and then got back to the elevator, and this time he pressed the button for the first floor. 

He was done considering. 

****

To those glorious people who read my crap...

  
Myst - Wow, you read this whole thing? That's awesome! But as for your guess...well, it's a good one. That's all I'll say. =)  
Sari - Oh my god, we're going back to school tomorrow! Noooo! And you, you already know what I'm planning for this fic. But tell no one! And review more! =P  
Lauren - Hey! I was wondering where you went! Yup, they're finally together now! I'm not gonna kill Marco off, I like him too much. I'm not gonna kill Ax either, while we're at it. I'm sorry this one was late!  
Doctor Strangelove - Once again, I'm not gonna kill him! I should make them use those swords sometime, shouldn't I? Heh...dirty swordfighting..._there's_ an idea. And Tilopid's back! I can't believe you guys like my crazy chick...  
Forlay - Pastry box in every chapter, guaranteed review! Like I said, this is a dangerous voice...but I'm not killing anyone. And I'm not saying anything more than that. Tilopid is back...she'll probably be in all the other chapters. The parenting fic was cute! I loved it! 


	8. Chapter Eight When Ax Causes Trouble

Author's Notes: A breakup? Well...okay, to be fair, I'm not going to give any detail here. I'd just like to remind everyone that I never, ever, said this was AU. (Alternate Universe, for those who don't know.) The reason this is so late is that I've been having some family problems, and it's made it a little hard for me to write. I'm sorry about it. 

****

Be Stupid Chapter Eight: When Ax Causes Trouble

It had to be a miracle, thought Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. There was no other possible reason for this. None at all.  
He had not yet been waken up by the phone, or by any pounding at his door. It was a miracle.  
Of course it logically wouldn't last long. Sooner or later, either Marco would call him or drop by -- or maybe his landlady would, Ax thought, remembering he still hadn't paid her. That wasn't good. He'd seen how that woman got when she wasn't given the money she needed. It was nearly as frightening as a horde of Hork-Bajir, if not more.  
He'd better pay her while he still could. Now, where did he put his rent? 

It was a few minutes afterwards when Ax started to get irritated. For his life, he couldn't find the place he'd put his rent.  
Of course, it might have been because of the fact that he was searching around his house in his Andalite body.  
If it had been anyone but Ax, they probably would've thought that was pretty funny -- an Andalite snooping around for money. But Ax, being Ax, didn't think it was really all that funny.  
Then Ax heard a crumpling sort of sound under his hooves. He looked down with his stalk eyes -- yes, he'd found it!  
Underneath him were three crumpled hundred dollar bills, the exact amount he needed to pay his rent. Except there was one problem. He couldn't exactly bend down to reach the money. So after a few failed attempts at trying to reach the dollar bills with his hands, Ax finally gave up and morphed human. He felt a rather familiar disquiet when the changes were finished taking place. He _was_ basically living here as a human. Wouldn't it be easier if he just _became_ human?  
No! Ax thought immediately. No matter what the temptation might be, he was still Andalite. Even if he felt, at times...  
Ax forced himself to stop that line of thought. He was still Andalite. That was it, end of discussion.  
Then he went to go get some clothes -- even though he was an Andalite, that didn't mean his landlady had to know. 

---------------- 

Ax knocked on the door, and wondered what time it was -- in human minutes, of course. Was it still too early for his landlady to be up? Apparently not, as the door opened in front of him.  
"Holy bejeezus, young man! It's far too early for you to be up!" Or maybe it still was early. Ax attempted a sheepish smile, but it just looked awkward on him. "I am sorry. Eee."  
Ax's landlady frowned at him. "Do you do that a lot?"  
Ax blinked at her, feeling a little confuse. "Do what-tuh?"  
"That. Do you have a stuttering problem, son?" Ax's landlady asked him. Ax shook his head. "Not as much as I used to." He told her.  
His landlady laughed at him. "Not as much, huh? Well, I'd hate to see you then!" Ax laughed, too. He had to wonder what his landlady would think of him if he had such a problem with words as he used to...even though they were still fun to play with. "You've come to pay your rent, haven't you?" Ax nodded, and handed her the three hundred he owed.  
The old woman smiled at him, taking up the money. To Ax's surprise, she had a rather pleasant smile. He'd never seen her smile before -- though, in all honesty, he hadn't seen very much of the lady during his three month stay on Earth.  
Ax smiled back, and turned back to leave, but -- "Would you like to come in for a while? I could use the company."  
Ax looked back at the old, gruff lady who now looked a little lonely. Why not? "Yes, I would enjoy that."  
So then the landlady let him in. She had a very nice house, though not really extravagant. 

"You know, I haven't gotten to know you very well." Ax's landlady told him. "I get to at least meet most of my tenants, but you...you just kind of showed up out of nowhere, sonny. Asked me if I had any room to spare and that was that."  
Ax took in a sharp breath. Exactly what was she getting at? "I suppose I am just a secretive person." He said.  
"I suppose so." The old lady laughed. "Not meaning to be suspicious, I just guess the news got to me."  
Ax couldn't figure out what she was talking about. "The news?" He blankly asked.  
His landlady looked at him. "Up this early and you don't watch the news? You are a strange one." She chuckled and turned on the TV, and up came the morning news.  
Ax couldn't believe what he saw. He had to be imagining this. It just couldn't be real.  
Maybe I should have expected this, Ax thought, but he had been trying to keep the fact that he was staying on Earth a secret. Apparently it wasn't a secret anymore.  
Ax sat down hard on his landlady's sofa. "Kind of a shocker, isn't it?" The old lady asked. "I just can't believe that Andalite managed to keep it from those press nazis he was here at all." She shook her head disgustedly. "Can't blame him for wanting for some privacy, but I guess that's the price of fame, wouldn't you say?"  
Ax managed to nod his head. "Yes, that is a shame. Ame. Sh-sh-ame..." The landlady frowned at him.  
"Are you feeling all right, sonny?" She asked. Ax gulped. "Yes, I'm feeling fine. I was just a little surprised, that is all."  
Ax's landlady marched up to him and put her hand on his head and announced her verdict: "You feel very warm, son. Are you _sure_ you're not sick?"  
Ax fiercely nodded, and managed to lift himself up from the couch even though he really felt too dizzy to stand.  
His landlady laughed. "You don't have to show off to prove your point." Ax blushed.  
"Well, since you're not going to let me see if you're sick, can I at least feed you?" The old lady asked.  
Ax agreed that she could feed him. 

---------------- 

Half an hour and a complete breakfast later, Ax's landlady decided he was well fed. Ax had to admit that was true -- the woman had cooked up enough food to feed a small army. It had been quite an enjoyable experience in Ax's opinion. They had a very interesting conversation, ranging from what they thought would happen to "that Andalite on TV" since it had been revealed where he was. That part had been sort of tense for Ax. He'd found out that his landlady had once been married but she'd lost her husband in the war -- he'd been (to the lady's disgust) a voluntary controller.  
She had heard he was dead, but when she found out he'd volunteered to be infested, she didn't bother making sure he was still among the living. Ax lied that he had lost his parents in the war -- both killed by a misfired Dracon Beam. 

In a way it might be true that he had lost his parents. After the war they were thrilled at his new rank and glad to have their son back. For about a year; things had been much better than he'd ever remembered them being. His parents no longer told him he should be "more like Elfangor". It hadn't lasted, though. Sooner than he'd expected they started to torment him about being "too human". He should be more like his own people, or at least hide his "human" tendencies better. They didn't like how he had started to challenge some beliefs of the public -- that women shouldn't fight in the military, for example. So things had begun to grow tense between him and his parents.  
Things finally broke between them when Ax refused to court an Andalite girl his parents had taken a shine to.  
They had asked him why he didn't do as they asked -- this girl was nice, intelligent and beautiful.  
He told them that he had no desire to court a female. After that they couldn't even look at him. Between the two, only his mother talked to him. She told him that she did still love him, but to be careful to not bring shame upon the family.  
When it had been discovered that Elfangor had a human son, only both sons' reputations had saved their family honor.  
Ax had jokingly told his mother that at least he wasn't looking to court out of his species anytime soon. (Ironically, Ax recalled that his mother had doubted that would last.) However, Noorlin-Sirinal-Cooraf was a completely different matter.  
Ax's father flatly refused to even acknowledge his son. This was what caused Ax and his mother to decide maybe he should leave for a while, until his father managed to calm down and "see reason", as Forlay-Esgarrouth-Maheen had put it. Ax wished her the best of luck and they ended up having a very long drawn-out goodbye, since neither of them could guess when Ax should return home. The only people he had told of his coming to Earth were the other Animorphs...only Cassie had really tried to interrogate him on why he'd left the homeworld. At the time though, he didn't want to tell anyone or anything. He didn't want to risk that his friends would also abandon him. 

Ax sighed and got ready to leave his landlady's home. "It has been nice to talk with you." Ax told the old lady.  
His landlady smiled. "You too, son. Oh...and if I were you, I'd be on the lookout for any sleazy reporters."  
Ax started blankly at his landlady. "How did you know?"  
"I've been around here for a while, son. Not everyday does a young man show up here without any explanation. Seriously, you didn't think I was going to guess?" Ax's landlady chided him. "Now, off with you. I'm sure you have things to do." Actually Ax didn't have a thing planned for the day except to maybe catch up on the Young and Restless.  
This didn't stop his landlady from shoving him out the door. Ax attempted to protest, but he found himself outside in a just second. He sighed and figured he may as well be heading home soon as it was -- he didn't want to risk being trapped in morph. So he went in the opposite direction back home. It wasn't until much later did he learn his landlady had seen a cameraman and a crew of reporters coming their way. 

---------------- 

It had happened sometime in the late morning. Aximilli-Esgarrouth-Isthill had been slowly strolling to his home.  
He had been almost there when he heard it.  
GET AWAY! I DO NOT WISH TO HURT YOU!  
Ax took off running in the direction that he had heard the scream. What he saw shocked him.  
Three human boys, no older than sixteen, were brandishing knives. They had ganged up on an Andalite female. She looked to be somewhat younger than Ax. No doubt some tourist who knew very little about humans.  
She was trying to not hurt the boys but they had no problem hurting _her._ Ax did not really think about what he did next. He began to demorph.  
The Andalite's eyes widened in surprise; the boys turned around and they started to scream. 

SCARRING YOUNG MEN FOR LIFE? WHAT A THING TO DO. 

Ax, now a mix of human and Andalite, stood still in fear and stopped. The Andalite girl had taken the opportunity to run without looking back. Her tormentors still stood there. One of them, either stupider or braver than the others, shouted "Get him!"  
In a panic Ax started demorphing again. He saw his tail blade emerge just as one of the boys leapt onto his back. 

WOULD YOU LIKE TO KILL THAT BOY WITH IT? 

Without warning, Ax felt his body break into sharp painful spasms. The boy on Ax's back lost his grip and landed on the ground only a millimeter from the tip of Ax's tailblade. Ax fought an urge to faint, but then was met with a much more disturbing feeling. _He wasn't moving his body._  
Ax felt himself completely demorph but not of his own will. The boy who had fallen off of him had moved, he was scooting back in a total panic. The other boys stood frozen still in fear. Ax felt his body turn around to face the boys.  
FWAAP! Ax's tailblade sliced through the air at a-quicker-than sight speed. The boy hadn't moved far enough!  
NO! Ax screamed. NO! NO! STOP THIS! **STOP!** Ax felt himself lose all the strength in his body, but not before he saw the deep cut across the boy's arm. It was bleeding a deep, dark red. He could see the boy's bone.  
Then Ax fainted. 

I GUESS _I_ WANTED TO KILL HIM, THEN. 

---------------- 

It was a while longer before Ax woke up. This place didn't look familiar at all...  
"Hey! He's awake!" Cassie? Was that Cassie's voice? He couldn't tell, everything was too blurry.  
Yes, it was Cassie. Everything started coming into focus again -- he was somewhere very, very white.  
Spotlessly white. It was disturbing.  
"Cassie, what happened?" Ax asked, feeling a sudden panic overtake him. How long had he in been in morph? When had he morphed to human? Ax sat up, but fought back a yelp at the sharp pain in his chest.  
"Don't strain yourself." Cassie said, forcing Ax to lay back down onto his bed. "Now, what happened was that those boys had...well, you morphed to human when you lost consciousness. They decided to attack you then."  
"Yes, and you've been here since." Ax suddenly saw Jake and Marco behind Cassie.  
Ax tried to take this in. So he had been attacked yet again and was now in a hospital...but...  
"How long have I been here?" Ax demanded.  
"Only an hour. Don't panic or anything." Marco teased, looking out the window near him, and then at Ax.  
Cassie and Jake exchanged glances, but neither one of them spoke. Ax had to wonder -- did they know?  
"How did you find this out?" Ax asked. "It was all over the news." Cassie said. "First it's been discovered that you were hiding for three months, then you're in the street beaten up. Of course people would leap all over it."  
"Well, maybe that's how Cassie found out. I got to listen to Marco panic." Jake said, scowling at Marco.  
"I wasn't panicking, I was concerned." Marco protested. Jake snorted. "Oh yeah, that's what it's called when you're ranting my ear off and holding your handheld TV for dear life the whole way here. _Concern._"  
Cassie giggled, but Ax was just surprised. He hadn't thought anyone was going to panic -- though, in a way, it was comforting to know that Marco had been worried. 

"Is there something wrong with wanting to stay informed?" Marco asked no one in particular.  
Then he put his hand and pulled out a handheld TV. "Hey, I even get cable on this thing." He showed it to everybody, and then played around with a switch on the side. "See, we can get the news..." Then he stopped talking.  
"Is that who I think it is?" Cassie asked. Jake nodded. "It's got to be."  
Ax felt his stomach lurch. Even on the homeworld were people well informed of this man: Chris Tompson, leader and spokesperson of the Human Alliance, an organization of the opinion that only creatures of Earth should step on her soil. They were especially anti-Andalite, worrying that the Andalites were, generally, no better than Yeerks.  
And they were proudly displaying their footage of Ax attacking "an innocent human boy".

**To My Press (god no! cameras! **ducks**)**

**Doctor Strangelove** - I hope there's enough Ax in this for you! Even though he's not really _funny_ in this chapter. (whoops...) Tilopid will show up, in true stalker fashion. And so will the swords, I'm just not sure how yet. Maybe Marco'll drop them off or something.

**Forlay** - Oh no! I had no Tilopid or pastries! No review! Ahhhhh! **takes a minute to compose herself** You have blue hair? Well, considering it's been forever since I updated this, I guess not. Maybe I should've made Cassie hyperventilate, that would have been funny. Oh jeez, I think I owe you guys an apology since this chapter was kind of dark...and once again, our crazer stalker chick will make her presence known 


	9. Chapter Nine When Marco Thinks

Author's Note: I am _so_ sorry this took so long. The only way I can really explain it is Writer's Block, (not to mention I was banned from my account until today **attacks FFN censors**) I had to even change the setting of part of this chapter completely because I couldn't write anything about it...but I hope it's a decent chapter! And I'm thinking I may have to stop answering questions about the plot for a while now. =P  
Also, if you've got the stomach to read it, I've written a story about a Taxxon-Controller which is called Desperate Freedom. Just a warning -- it is R rated for a reason. 

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Be Stupid Chapter Nine: When Marco Thinks

Privately Marco didn't think Chris Tompson was much better than a televangilist. Granted his crusade was a different kind, but that was more or less the only difference. Except for one other thing -- it was easy to see how Chris Tompson had gotten his fans. He was cute.  
There it was, plain and simple. People listened to him solely because of the way he looked. Chris Tompson had light blonde hair that was constantly messy-looking, but in an attractive way. Compounded with icy blue eyes, yes, it was easy to see where the man had gotten his support. 

Marco continued recycling his reasons for disliking Chris Tompson over and over in his head. At least it was keeping him from thinking about the thing that was really disturbing him.  
Main reason for not liking Chris Tompson? Marco asked himself. Knowing that he'd just gotten Ax into deep shit.  
Of course, that opened up the fact that Ax was lying here in a hospital, which in turn opened up a lot of worries and questions that Marco really wasn't sure he wanted to think about. So instead he thought about Chris Tompson.  
"As you can see, this just further proves that Andalites are a menace to society. If one supposedly trustworthy Andalite can attack a young boy with such ruthlessness, how can we possibly trust any of them?" Mr. Tompson was asking a young newswoman. Judging by the look on her face, she could come up with no answer to Chris Tompson's question; so Tompson just continued talking. "Then as it has also been revealed that the Andalite shown here on this tape has been here on Earth for quite some time without reason makes me wonder if even this Andalite who was assumedly an ally of the Animorphs is even trustworthy himself." Tompson smiled satisfactorily.  
Marco heard Cassie make a sound of disgust. "You'd think Ax doesn't even have a name the way he keeps calling him 'That Andalite'! Typical Tompson." All the boys looked at her in surprise, and she shrugged.  
"Sorry, but you'd be surprised at how much I hear about him...it gets irritating." Cassie sighed. There was a moment of awkward silence in the before Ax finally decided to speak.  
"That is all right, Cassie. Ie. There are many on my homeworld who feel the same way." He said. 

Then suddenly a young man had entered the doorway. He had slightly tanned skin, brown eyes and strawberry blonde hair. All four heads in the room swiveled to look at him and the poor man fidgeted under those glances. "I...I need to check up on my patient." he meekly said.  
"I'm really sorry, but I kind of need you all to be out of here." He insisted as politely as he possibly could.  
Cassie took the hint and gave Jake and Marco a not-so-subtle shove near the door. Jake grabbed Marco's arm and pulled him out of the room. Damn, Jake had been working out lately! A moment later Cassie joined them.  
"Jeez Jake, did you have to pull that hard?" Marco complained, rubbing his poor bruising arm.  
Jake frowned as he pretended to think about this. "I don't know Cassie, did I?" He asked. Cassie now pretended to think. "Well maybe...after all, I don't think Marco would have left if you hadn't." The black girl added, now donning a "perfectly innocent angel" look.  
Marco scowled at both of them -- faking it, of course. "I'm never getting a break." He said it as if it were a fact.  
Unfortunately, the grins on both his friend's faces were proving him to be completely right. 

Marco shook his head. He needed to get around a bit, he wasn't a big fan of hospitals as it was (this one was particularly creepy with its spotlessness) and he had to admit that he was already feeling kind of tense. Not that he was seriously worried about the fact that his -- well, boyfriend -- had nearly chopped a kid's arm off or any of that.

  
_Nope, no worries._ Marco tried to convince himself, even though he knew it was a losing battle. 

"Jake?" Marco called. The big brunette turned around to look at him. "What?"  
"Didn't I leave something in your car?" Marco asked.  
Jake looked at Marco, trying to think about that. "Um, maybe..." Then Jake not-so-subtly jerked his head at Cassie as if to remind Marco that they would be leaving her to wait alone.  
"You wanna come with?" Marco asked, almost wincing at the reluctance in his voice.  
Cassie shook her head, grinning a little. "Nah, I'd rather not. Jake's car has got to be such a mess I couldn't ever get out alive. You two go on, I'll wait for that doctor...nurse...guy to let me back in."  
Marco mentally sighed in relief. It wasn't that he didn't like Cassie, not at all. It was just that he was afraid that with Casssie along, he might actually have to think about everything that had just happened with Ax and he didn't want to do that. Yes, he was going to delay the inevitable as much as possible. 

---------------- 

So therefore Marco and Jake walked along the disturbingly spotless white hallways of the hospital. Neither one of them said a thing to each other for the first two hallways they went through. Until the two of them finally reached some elevators, which were fortunately not white.  
Jake was the first to walk in and Marco followed. The doors closed behind them when Jake pressed the button labeled with a "one".  
The two longtime friends resumed their silence for a few seconds more. Finally, though, Jake had to say something..."Marco?" The brunette tentatively asked, shifting his eyes away from the short one. "Can I ask you something?"  
_Oh great._ Marco thought. _This is all probably Cassie's doing. She must have told Jake 'to make sure I was okay' or some crap like that. Damn it!_ But what came out of his mouth was "Sure, big guy."  
Jake inhaled, probably thinking about how to word his question. "What I wanted to ask was...why him?"  
Marco frowned and studied Jake a moment before speaking. "You're not about to profess your undying love for me, are you?" He warily asked, stepping back a bit from Jake; who shook his head.  
"No. Nothing like that. It's just that...and don't take this as meaning I object or anything, but I can't see why you chose, well, _Ax_ of all people. I'd just like to understand, that's all." Jake looked relieved at saying this.  
Marco was not relieved, however, as something unsettling suddenly hit him -- kind of like a thunderbolt. "Why?"  
His voice sounded strangely strangled, even to him. Jake nodded, casting his best bud a glance. "Well, yeah. Unless you don't..."  
Marco shook his head and turned his eyes away from Jake. "It's not that it's too personal." Marco laughed.  
Then the laughter just seemed to fade away with a sort of tension filling its place. "It's that I...I don't know why."  
Jake looked at his best friend in surprise. "You don't?" Marco shook his head, and the elevator doors opened again.  
There wasn't anything more to be said on the matter.

  
Then Marco nearly ran into Jake, who had stopped walking. Peering to the side of his way too tall friend, Marco saw why and he became scared. Forget scared -- he was worried, panicked, and in shock.  
"Not her!" Marco wailed. "Jake, save me!"  
This of course, caused the blue haired diva to turn around and almost drop the white package in her hand. Marco noticeably paled. "Marco!" The bluehead chirped, waving gaily. "There you are!" Then Marco turned white.  
Then the Andalite nothlit looked at Jake, who Marco was clinging onto for protection. Her eyes darkened, as she seemed to be visualizing the reasons they were together. She then promptly placed her package on the floor and seized Marco by the collar. The look in her eyes reminded him so much Rachel -- and in such a bad way...  
"_Why..._" Tilopid demanded, glaring at her poor victim. "Are you not in Aximili's room?!"  
Marco felt like he'd shrunken at least three feet as he cowered under the scary lady's icy glare. He was attempting to speak and explain things, but his mouth didn't seem to like the idea of moving right now.  
Then Marco heard a voice. It was a very good voice, a saving voice..."We were kicked out." Jake stated.  
Tilopid blinked, turning her eyes on Jake. "Oh. I see." She said, then picked up the package and dumped it in Jake's hands. "Well, could you give this to Aximili when you can? Tell him I stopped by."  
Tilopid then winced as she looked at Marco. "Sorry, I thought that you were...well...doing something I would have to kill you for." She explained with an apologetic smile as she finally let go of Marco's shirt. Marco took a long deep breath of air as Tilopid walked on out. After a moment, Jake commented on this. "We attract crazies."  
Marco decided to just give a long, tired nod in agreement. It much easier than speaking.  
With that done Marco and Jake traveled out themselves, Jake still holding Tilopid's package. Eyeing the package suspiciously, Marco decided to just ask Jake point-blank. "What the heck is in there?"  
Jake shrugged, opened the box, and looked inside. Then he grimly nodded and looked Marco in the eye.  
"Cinnamon buns." That was all that needed to be said. 

There may not have been anything to say about the relationship between Marco and Ax, but there were thoughts and Marco had plenty of them to fill up his head now. He couldn't escape them if he tried. Silently, Marco swore to kill Jake -- never mind that he had no logical reason to do it, except that he didn't want to do _this_.  
With that one question, Jake had caused Marco to realize something.  
There wasn't any obvious or simple reason that he felt the way he did now. He just knew that he cared about Ax.  
The thought, to be completely freaking honest, scared him. To top that off he didn't really have any idea of when all this had started -- was it that morning when he'd bolted from Ax's apartment? After that, when he'd realized what an ass he'd been? Or was it sometime even earlier than that? Did it even really matter? He had no idea.  
And now...well, Marco prided himself on not being a total idiot. It was obvious that something very wrong was going on with Ax. Marco had no idea what _that_ was, either. Even so, he was going to find out. 

__

So what's causing all this? Marco thought.  
As Marco was wondering he suddenly got a very strange image in his head -- of something with an almost elfin appearance melting into Ax's face, but not Ax's face...a very distorted, _wrong_ version of his face...  
"Where did that come from?" Marco said, the words flying out of his mouth before he thought them.  
Jake turned around. "Where did what come from?" Marco blinked and shook his head to try and focus.  
"Nothing...I was just seeing things." Marco said. Jake frowned and took a good, long look at his best friend but he decided that maybe it'd be best if he didn't say anything.

  
---------------- 

Marco and Jake carried on their dutiful trek to the hospital parking lot, and therefore to Jake's car. The parking lot of the hospital was immense, close to the size of a football field. There was a vast scattering of varieties of cars all over the place, some old and junky while others were brand sparkling new. Inside of that mass of car, somewhere, was Jake's Jaguar...  
"Now what are we getting out of here again?" Jake asked as he pressed a button on his keys that caused the trunk to pop open.  
Marco put on a devilish smile as he dived for the open trunk, slammed what looked like a pirate hat onto his head and pulled out two wooden swords. "These," he said, "Are what we're getting." Jake just gaped and Marco's triumphant look collapsed. "What? It's a gift for Ax, and stop staring at me!" He screeched.  
Jake sighed and shook his head. "You are getting weirder every day."  
Marco laughed. "Must be the company I keep." Without a flash of warning, Jake's eyes widened. "Marco..."  
"The company you keep? What company _that_ is." The voice wasn't a familiar one to either Animorph.  
Marco turned around to see a big burly guy who was now holding him down by the shoulder. "Who...?"  
Then with a sickening smack, the guy's fist slammed into Marco's face. Marco moaned and cradled his face with his hands, aware of the blood pouring onto his fingers and the aching pain in his head. Jake let out a strange half-yell, half-growl and tackled the guy; shocking all three people present. Marco forced himself up onto his feet, his hands still clamped over his hurting nose. However, both his eyes were opened now and he was getting a full view of the image of Jake on top of a huge redheaded guy, Jake looking rather calm about the whole thing -- angry, but calm. With his fist raised up just in case.  
The redhead scowled at Jake. "You goddamn prick! Who was I to expect less from the leader of the traitorous humans that brought alien scum onto our soil?" He asked, laughing at his question.  
Marco found himself remembering Visser Two. Then his eyes locked onto the black armband the man was wearing, donned with the word ALLIANCE in white. "Oh. You're one of Tompson's guys." Marco commented, looking over at the redheaded guy (who Jake was still pinning down). "And Jake's a goddamn prick? Funny coming from the man who likes to nail innocent people in the face." Continuing, Marco added more. "You know, I could sue you for plenty of money right now...I'm a little low on cash, come to think of it."  
Marco couldn't help smirking as he saw the guy's face blanch. "Lucky you I can morph. Fearless Leader, I think you can stop straddling the poor man now."   
Jake got off the guy and even pulled him off the ground, but kept a hold onto the guy's shirt collar.

With a scowl, the guy glared at both of them. "Fuck you assholes. Fine, let me go! It's all over the news, though, about that Andalite bastard being kept here at this place. We will do something about it. Long live humanity!"  
Looking disgusted, Jake threw the guy off of him. "Leave." Jake said. "Just get out here before we press charges." With one last final scowl, the man ran off out of the parking lot -- nearly getting run over by a pale violet car...manned by a woman with bluish hair. By this time, Marco had let go of his streaming nose and threw off his shirt, shoes, and jeans, revealing his morphing outfit underneath. Call it habit.  
Marco had begun the changes at this point, his skin bulging out and becoming tough -- muscular. In mere minutes, he'd taken on the form of a massive gorilla. However, just as quickly he had begun to go back to his real form.  
Marco picked up his shirt and jeans, put them back on and did the same with his shoes...and of course the pirate hat and the shoes. With a long, drawn-out intake of breath Marco turned to his worries.  
That redheaded idiot had said that the Human Alliance did know that Ax was staying here now. Not a comforting thought...  
Marco ran his hand through his hair, took a shaky breath and walked back to the hospital with Jake. 

---------------- 

Marco and Jake walked through the elevator door to floor five, and finally combed their way to room 119; Jake holding a box of stale cinnamon buns and Marco dressed as what could only be described as a modern-day pirate.  
They found themselves looking in the room at a very irritated Cassie. Her mouth was set into a firm, tight line and her eyes looked like they could spout fire. "What took you so long?" She asked.  
Jake had nearly grabbed the wall for protection. Marco was very alarmed by the fact that he couldn't see Ax anywhere. "Um...Cassie?" Marco asked. "Where...what did you..." He stammered. Cassie smiled at him.  
"Don't worry, he's still alive. He's just in the bathroom demorphing right now." Marco placed a hand onto the wall to steady himself before he collapsed with relief. Cassie was downright terrifying when she was mad.  
"Marco...what's with the...um, outfit?" Cassie asked. Marco rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. "Don't ask."  
At that moment the bathroom door opened and out stepped Ax. He looked around the room in human eyes.  
Why he was still human was a mystery to Marco, considering everyone here knew what he was.  
Not that it mattered very much...or that he objected to it, either. For the time being, though, Marco decided that might not be an appropriate line of thought -- after all, Jake and Cassie were still in the room.  
Marco then tossed Ax one of the swords (he'd shoved them in his beltloops). The Andalite caught it and shot Marco a confused look. "Call it a gift." Marco explained with a shrug.  
Ax smiled just a little bit at that and then placed the sword onto his hospital bed, next to Cassie.  
"So Ax, how long are they keeping you here?" Cassie asked. Ax frowned as he thought about the question.  
"Well..." He began, but he never did get to finish his sentence because at that moment something went flying through the window, finally halting itself before it went crashing into the floor.  
Everyone in the room stared in shock at the thing that just went hurtling through -- Tobias. 

****

To you nice, nice people who actually waited for my fic...

Lauren - FF.net is starting to tick me off, too! I'm not gonna say anything, but if you think it's bad that Ax was beating people up..get ready to start feeling really sorry for him. I'm sorry this took so long! 

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Myst - Wagh! ** author collapses to the ground because she's not used to being huggled** I guess you're right, Andalites probably could reach dollar bills...I hadn't really thought about it. Anyway, yep, I was implying Ax has a food obsession. Poor boy, he's a foodaholic. Once again, sorry it took so long! I hope you didn't forget too much of the story! And Dodging Menace kicks serious bum. 

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Amy Angelblade - Hi! **waves** Yep, Marco kissin' Ax...ain't it weird? =) 

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Forlay - Whoa...double-review. And just for you, there is lots of Tilopid and pastries. They're even together in the same scene! And if you want to believe the landlady fed Ax pastries, I won't stop you! (Wow...I just mentioned pastries three times in a row. That's kinda creepy.) As much as I'd love to have Tilopid chasing away the mean voice, I am sorry to admit the following chapters are not going to be exactly happy, per se. I love making Marco freak out, it's so much fun! Now, whether or not he'll be having more reason to freak out...you'll just have to see. ;) 

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Doctor Strangelove - Then Ax appeared, dark things happened, and it was good. =P Yes, expect Marco to become "concerned" quite often from this point on...um, not obsessive concerned, though. That could be bad. Lookie! I brought the swords back! See? Swords! I hope my family problems work out, too. At least it hasn't been affecting my writing...no, I got writer's block instead. **sigh** 

**hands everyone bags of Halloween candy and their own Marco and Ax plushies.**  
Tilopid, Cassie, Jake and landlady plushies are optional. Have a nice night! 


	10. Chapter Ten When Ax Decides

Author's Note: I am sorry this took so long. It's all because of a variety of things, more or less writer's block and the fact that soccer practice has started, which is taking a more out of me than I expected. Then finally, dogs attacked my cat and that didn't help, especially because her baby kittens were freaking out because mom and I had to feed them and they were confused about who _was_ their Mommy.  
Okay, my long boring rants on my life being over, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! 

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Be Stupid Chapter Nine: When Ax Decides

Everyone stared at the hawk that landed on the floor. 

Ax couldn't think of anything to say. It had been three years. Three years since Rachel's death, since he had seen his _shorm_ and nephew. Three years without any attempt at contact or any way of knowing if Tobias was still among the living. What did you say after so long?  
I had to, Tobias paused and flapped back up to the windowsill. I had to come. I saw all of the stuff on TV and I had to come and see if Ax was allright.  
Marco was the first to speak. "Tobias! You don't call, you don't write! You don't even send us mouse meat for Christmas!"  
Tobias shot a fierce glare at Marco. Oh, shut up.  
Then he looked at Cassie, making every effort to avoid Jake. Hey Cassie. the birdboy said. Then with the most clipped voice Ax had ever heard, Tobias also said, without even looking at the person he was speaking to, Hello Jake.  
Ax saw Prince Jake wince against his own will. Tobias looked in paranoia at the white, closed room. Um...  
Can someone close the door? Tobias asked.  
Cassie stepped over and gave the door a gentle shove, and it closed. The changes had begun. Tobias's hard beak was melting into soft lips. The feathers were melting off miscolored flesh, and Tobias hit the ground as his bird legs could not support the weight. In a few minutes, the glop of melting and shifting half-bird half-boy seemed to have made up its mind and emerged as a young human boy.  
"Deja vu." Marco muttered, and Ax had to agree.  
Tobias frowned and wrapped his arms around his chest that just only managed to be covered by his morphing suit. With movements that looked like they hadn't been practiced in a long while, Tobias walked over to Ax.  
And in near complete unison, Jake, Cassie, and Marco all left the room. Ax wasn't sure if he was relieved or anxious because of that. His mind was still trying to find the words to say and even with his superior Andalite intellect, he was coming up with nothing. Part of him wanted to yell and scream at Tobias for leaving like he had with no trace of evidence aside from random "Birdboy Sightings", as they'd been coined, that he was even alive. In all honesty he was angry and hurt that Tobias seemed to have decided they could all be dropped from his life. Yet on the other side, he could understand Tobias's pain. It was no secret that his _shorm_ had loved Rachel. Ax _did_ understand the reasons for Tobias's actions, and he was relieved beyond belief to see his him again. There in lay Aximili's conflict. He was clueless about how to express all of these conflicting emotions to the person that had once been the one he was closest to on this planet. 

It hurt. 

Tobias took in a deep breath and sat himself on the edge of the hospital bed Ax was laying in. Ax's one-time _shorm_ wasn't even looking at him, but instead stared at the gaping hole in the window he had created.  
"It's been so long." Tobias said, and even though Ax felt it wouldn't be respectful to tell him, it was easy to tell it had been a while since the boy had spoken to anyone. "I wasn't sure whether or not I was going to come."  
Then Tobias looked away, then his brows knitted in determination as he turned to look Ax in the eyes. "Sorry."  
_Sorry?_ Ax thought. That was all he had to say? But then to Ax's relief, Tobias continued. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about leaving you guys, but I couldn't cope with it..." Tobias' throat closed up for a moment. "I couldn't cope with her being gone, with never being able to see her again. I shouldn't have turned away from all of you, I know that now; but I loved her. I loved her more than I've ever loved anyone before or since. I didn't realize until a while ago that I shouldn't have some monopoly over Rachel now that's she gone...we all loved her, and she wasn't the only thing in my life." Tobias smiled at Ax. "I had you, after all. You were my best friend."  
"Yes, I was." Ax said. "And you were mine, Tobias." Tobias looked at Ax with an expression of relief.  
"So you don't hate me?" Tobias asked in a slow, nervous tone. Ax shook his head. "No. I could never do that."  
Then at that moment, the two former _shorms_ embraced. Not a long hug by any means but more than enough. In a moment the two of them unlocked with tears shining in both of their eyes. After that, Ax felt some of his anger melt away. Some of his pain was starting to hurt less. In his hearts, he knew that just one hug would not reconcile everything between him and his time-shifted nephew. But it was a beginning. In time, maybe, just maybe, they could regain what they had lost. Time was something there was more than enough of. 

Tobias took a good, hard, long look at the TV hanging up near the ceiling of Ax's room. "It's not on." He said.  
"The others have been here so long I have not had time to watch." Ax said.  
Tobias bit his lip, though only for a second. "Any good soaps on? The Young and Restless still going?" He asked.  
"Yes, I believe so." Ax said. "I think Tara finally came out with her feelings for Danielle a week or so back."  
Tobias gaped. "You mean after all those years of hinting?" Ax nodded.  
As Tobias took the remote and clicked the TV set on, Ax fought back a sense of nostalgia. In time, he told himself. And now, there would be so much to tell -- for both him and Tobias. And hope be with them, their friendship could take it. 

---------------- 

It was an hour or so later when Jake, Cassie, and Marco returned. To Ax's utter delight, they'd stopped at a McDonald's near the hospital and returned with Quarter Pounders and Happy Meals.  
For himself Ax had snagged a Happy Meal and two Quarter Pounders, while Jake and Cassie each took a Quarter Pounder, leaving poor Marco with the only other Happy Meal. Tobias had decided to hunt for his lunch.  
"I feel like a kid." Marco whined, looking down at his happy meal. "I thought you were a kid." Cassie said.  
"Hey!" Marco glared and Cassie started giggling. Jake hid a smile behind his hand. Ax was agreeing with Cassie. But to be fair, he decided to slip Marco the other quarter pounder.  
"Oh, wow, thanks!" Marco chirped as he picked up the box. Then he turned to Cassie and Jake to tease them. "See? Somebody loves me." He said, trying to have a serious look on his face. It didn't work. Not that Ax hurling a fry at Marco helped things any. Marco picked up the french fry and pretend to sulk. "Okay, maybe I'm not loved."  
Then Ax chucked about five more fries in Marco's face. Marco threw most of his fries at Ax in retaliation. This escalated into an all-out food fight between them. Jake and Cassie watched on with their mouths open as Ax and Marco started picking off pickles, tomatoes and lettuce from their burgers and starting hurling them at each other. Ax ducked to the left as a mustard-covered pickle started zooming towards his face. The pickle did miss the Andalite, but both Ax and Marco stopped to a dead halt as they heard the pickle hit something with a loud, wet smack. In slow horror, the two of them turned to face a mad, glaring, mustard-coated birdboy.  
"Um...he did it." Marco said, pointing at Ax. Ax gaped at his boyfriend in indignant anger. "I did not! That was him."  
Tobias looked once at Marco, once at Ax, and once at Jake and Cassie. Cassie? He asked. Who was it?  
Cassie, fearing the wrath of the mustard-covered one, pointed at Marco. Marco took the hint and started to flee.  
Ax stood staring in mild shock as Tobias began chasing Marco around the room. Part of him _knew_ he should help, not only because Marco was his boyfriend, but also because no one deserved to have his or her eyes pecked out. Then again, Ax didn't want his eyes pecked out either. That would prove to be quite painful.  
At he wasn't alone. Jake and Cassie were too motionless and deaf to Marco's pleas for help. So it wasn't just him. Marco then performed a feat of amazing acrobatics by leaping up onto the bed and seizing one of the wooden swords. "Back!" He shouted, brandishing the sword at Tobias. "Back ye evil bird!" 

Using his quick-thinking brain in an attempt to save Marco, Jake had grabbed the remote changed channels.  
It had stopped Tobias. However, it had also stopped everyone else in the room. There was a far too familiar blonde man on the screen, charming politician smile and all. "Tompson!" Cassie hissed.  
Chris Tompson, anti-alien activist of the century, was talking with charm and vibrance to a pretty young redhaired news woman. "Yes, Patricia, it is shocking." Tompson was saying. "Of course, I have long been of the opinion that other life forms are morally corrupt and those that assist them are no better. But even I did not expect this. This is just sick." The newswoman nodded in strict agreement.  
What are they talking about? Tobias wondered.  
"I have no idea." Marco muttered. Jake shrugged and Cassie just glared at the screen, her eyes darkening with bad expectations. Without realizing it, Ax started to chew on his bottom lip. He wasn't one to believe in premonition, but he felt a sick feeling creep up in his human stomach. It was no secret the Human Alliance had hooked onto him. They were the ones responsible for publicizing his presence on Earth and his attack on the punks that had been harassed an Andalite female. What else could they know, what other thing could they use?  
"My fellow Alliance members had gathered these photographs from reliable sources. I assure you that these are no fakes, no sad tabloid scam. What you are about to see is pure fact." Tompson was saying.  
"Parents may want their children to leave the room." Then the series of pictures began to flash on the TV screen.  
Ax could not believe what he was seeing. For a moment he thought that perhaps he was imagining this, but he knew that wasn't the truth. Otherwise he wouldn't be feeling the cold sweat on his forehead. Cold sweat that kept accumulating as more of the images began to fly across the screen. They weren't objectionable images, but more than enough to show the two people in the photographs were sharing more than a simple outing at a theme park.  
They were pictures of Marco and Ax's trip to Pirateland. It had been their first and so far, only, date. Simple and innocent enough. Until now, that was. Ax placed a hand on the wall to keep from collapsing. His thoughts had drifted to his parents, who would sooner or later find out about this. His mother would be shocked but Ax trusted Forlay-Esgarrouth-Maheen would be able to accept this. Perhaps she even saw it coming, Ax thought. He remembered that not long after he had told his parents of his attraction to other males, his mother had begun teasing him that since he was so human-like it would be more likely for Ax to court a human male than one of his own kind. His mother would be the only one to accept him as he was, though. Ax knew that in his hearts. Noorlin-Sirinal-Cooraf would disown him. Before Ax had even left for Earth his father had stopped talking to him. This would destroy what fragment of a father-son bond they still had. And as for his people? His fellow Andalites? Ax held no illusions of acceptance in his mind. To his own people he would be good as dead. 

Marco lost his grip on the sword and it hit the bed. He said only one word. "Shit."  
Cassie's lips were pressed together in a tight line and her eyes were flashing in what Ax interpreted as anger. Prince Jake was, from the look on his face, pissed off. "That scumbag." He said, moving his thumb up and clicking the TV off. Tobias had perched onto the edge of the bed and stared at the blank TV screen, his hawk form making his emotions unreadable. That relieved Ax, he didn't want to think about Tobias's thoughts right now.  
"Damn it!" Marco yelled. He jumped off the bed in an ungraceful burst of fury. "What am I going to do now?"  
All of Ax's emotions -- his shock at the news now made public, his sadness at his now inevitable rejection from his people, his fear at what was happening to him, turned into one burning feeling. Anger. It made him sick inside.  
"What are _you_ going to do?" Ax repeated Marco's question, his voice coming out a distorted version of the way it often sounded in human form. Marco turned to look at him, mistrust playing in eyes. But he still fell for it.  
"What do you think I mean? How in the world can things go back to normal now?" Marco challenged. "Don't you get it? I just lost everything! My fans are going to hate me, my show, my book contracts, they're all dead now! Let's not even mention what my parents are going think! I've lost everything and all because of someone I'm not even sure how I feel about!" Marco yelled. Then Marco took a step back as he realized what he'd just said.  
"I understand." Ax said. "I understand what you've lost. I have lost my father, my people, and my home. I can sympathize." Then Ax started walking out the door. "However, I do not apologize." He said to Marco as he left. 

Ax was heading for the elevators. He didn't know enough about the hospital to know where he was going, he just wanted to go somewhere away. He pressed the down button near the elevator door, and in a few moments it opened. It was empty, thank all that was good. Looking over at the number panel on the side of the elevator wall, Ax pressed the number 3 button. Ax just watched as the doors started to close, trying not to think about what had just happened and the things to come.  
"No!" To Ax's surprise, a hand shot through and grabbed the left door. With a groan, Marco forced himself inside the elevator. The metal doors closed behind him. "I screwed up, okay?" Marco said. "I apologize for what I said. But I'm not letting you leave until I at least get a chance to explain myself." Ax sighed. What choice did he have?  
Marco took a deep breath. "When I said that I wasn't sure how I felt about you, I didn't mean it in an 'I want to end this relationship' way." He said. Ax looked at the boy in front of him. What was Marco getting at? "It's the truth, though. I'm _not_ sure how I feel about you. I just know a few things right now. One, that you're the first person I've dated since the war that treats me like a real person. Two, that you've got me in a whole new kind of situation I don't have that much experience with. I mean, you know, this is the first time I've ever dated a guy. It's new for me. Then third, and most important..." Marco took another breath, looked up at the ceiling and spoke.  
"I care about you. I worry about you with everything that's happened. You start blacking out in the middle of the street, start attacking kids, and I don't know why. You see, that kind of bugs me for some strange reason. Then there's all this crap with Chris Tompson and his little gang, too. I guess what I meant to say is that, yeah, looks like my public image has been ruined and all for a guy I that I don't know what I feel for. But it's okay, because at least I'm losing all of that for someone I care for. At least I'm losing it for a friend." Marco said.  
"Well, that's all I had to say. Unless you've got something you want to tell me, I guess that's it." Marco shrugged.  
"Thank you for telling me, Marco." Ax said in the most formal voice he could manage. It was his turn to tell the truth.  
"I do not know what is happening to me." Ax confessed. Marco raised his eyebrows.  
"Whatever is happening, it is out of my control. It was not my intention to attack those boys, even if they did deserve it. Someone, no...something, was in control of my body. It has been happening ever since that day we went out, when I had nearly passed out at the amusement park. There had been a voice speaking to me right before I started to lose consciousness." Ax frowned at the memory. "That explains that for you."  
"And I had one more thing I wanted to say." Ax rolled words around in his head to explain himself. "I have more than likely lost any chance I had to reunite with my people. But I feel that it is worth it. After all, as you said, at least I am losing that chance for a friend." Then Ax smiled at Marco. "Or to be more precise, a friend with benefits."  
Marco smirked. "Well..." He began to say, but Ax put a hand up to his face. "But I need time."  
The elevator door opened right then, near what seemed to be an empty waiting hall. A new, revolutionary idea was occurring to the Andalite. An idea that seemed to have taken ages to come to him. Ax stepped out.  
Marco chased after him. "What are you doing?" His boyfriend demanded. Ax smiled at him, his eyes twinkling.  
"Something I should have done a long time ago." Ax said. As Ax was heading down the hall with Marco lagging behind, he reviewed the situation in his head for the last time. Now that his and Marco's relationship had been made public, there wasn't a chance that his people would welcome him anytime soon. Even despite being the brother of Elfangor, and an honored war-prince. Sure, that would help but Andalite society did not open up to new ideas easy. Ax would be welcomed back when he was old and feeble, of that he was certain.  
And these days he had been finding it so easy to slip into human morph. For reasons of privacy and security, he had told himself. It was a plausible excuse, but even during the war he had not been spending this much time as a human. Also, something else occurred to him. Where was it he had gone whenever things were too hard?  
Whenever he needed a break, where was it he had headed? Where was it that he felt comfortable? Where?  
Where was it that he felt at home? 

Ax stopped moving as the answer came to him. It was a shock, but yet...it didn't surprise him as much as it should.  
Earth was where he had gone whenever things were too hard. Earth was where he went when he needed a break. Earth was where he felt comfortable. _Earth_ was where he felt at home.  
It made so much sense now. Ax knew what he needed to do. He still had three minutes, enough time to demorph if he needed to. It would take a while to get a response, but he could still have contact with his mother. She would understand. The others Animorphs, his friends, they would get it sooner or later. To be honest, though, Ax didn't care that much what they thought. He just could not believe the idea hadn't occurred to him earlier.  
After traveling through the hall Ax and Marco had located a waiting room with a vending machine. There were hard plastic seats decorating the whole room.  
Ax plopped down on of them and after a long sigh, Marco sat next to him. Now he had a minute.  
Ax shut his eyes as the tears started to flow. In his mind he counted down the seconds.  
Fifty-two, fifty-one, fifty, forty-nine...Ax felt Marco squeeze his hand, and Ax was grateful for the bit of comfort.  
The seconds were going by agonizing slow, but then they would speed up, and then slow down again.  
Five, four, three, two...one...Ax opened his eyes. They were still blurred with tears but that was fine. Ax took a deep sigh and leaned back in the chair. That had taken a lot out of him.  
But he didn't regret it at all. After a moment, Marco spoke. "You'd better not have done that because of me."  
Ax turned at him and glared. "Who said I did it for you? You are not the only thing in my life." Ax stated.  
Marco smiled. "That's good. I wouldn't want to be the only thing your life anyway, it'd be too creepy."  
Ax then tried to hide a smile. "That is very true. After all, if you were the only thing in my life, then the world would have two Marcos and I doubt the Earth can handle that." Marco was nodding to himself until he realized what Ax was saying.  
"Hey! You finally learn to joke and it's at my expense? That is so not fair!" Marco whined.  
Ax had a hard time hiding the smirk threatening to crawl onto his lips. "But it is so easy." Ax teased.  
Unable to think of a mature response, Marco stuck his tongue out at Ax. The Andalite laughed and got up, pulling Marco with him. "The others will be wondering where we are." Ax said. Marco nodded. "They probably think you killed me."  
"Yes, I could see why." Ax agreed. Marco just shook his head in resignation. 

With that, the two of them headed back to Ax's room. When they got there, Jake, Cassie and Tobias were waiting for them. No one said anything, but Tobias did send Ax a fierce hawk glare. He must have known.  
Jake got up, and faced Ax. "One of the doctors came by while you were gone. They want you to leave the hospital, because apparently one too many of the patients don't like the idea of you being here now with all the information the Human Alliance is broadcasting." Jake sighed. "I tried to reason with the doctor, but I got nothing out of that. It's okay, though, since the morphing did heal your injuries." Jake told Ax.  
"So I should go home then?" Ax asked Jake. Cassie decided to answer this question with a hesitant shrug. "No, not yet. I, I mean, _we_ thought it would be safer for you to stay with one of us for a while. There are reporters flocking your apartment from what I've heard, and things probably more dangerous than that."  
"I do not wish to impose on any of you." Ax said, but was stopped by Jake's stern face. "You're not imposing. You're one of us, Ax, and you always have been." Ax was forced to comply with Prince Jake, who seemed to grow even taller when he was angry or frustrated. "Yes, Prince Jake." He managed to say.  
"Ax, stop calling me that." Jake said. "Of course, Prince Jake." Ax said. Jake inhaled a long breath and rubbed his temples. "Right," Jake said. "He's not staying with me if he keeps doing that."  
I don't have anywhere for him to stay at. Tobias added.  
Cassie's brow furrowed as she thought. "I have a date with Ronnie tonight, but he could still stay with me."  
In near unison every head in the room turned to look at Marco. '"You're kidding!" He screeched.  
"Marco, out of all of us, shouldn't you be having the least trouble with having him at your place?" Jake asked.  
"But come on! If there's reporters and psychos at Ax's place, they've got to be at my house too! Are you insane?" Marco was close to screaming. Jake shrugged. "True, but you've got security at your place and it's not like you two are closeted anymore. What's the huge harm?" Prince Jake asked.  
Marco sighed in resignation, but not before telling Jake he hated him. Jake then started to more or less shove Marco out the door. "I get the picture!" Marco cried, running out with Ax behind him.  
"Fine, then!" Marco shouted to the now closed hospital door. "We'll just go get a taxi!" 

---------------- 

That turned out to be the exact thing Marco and Ax had to do. It was hard work because every cab driver in the city knew about them, and of course none of them wanted the two gay Animorphs inside their cab. Just as they were about to give up and try to walk to Marco's mansion (which was on the other side of town), one driver stopped for them. She was a redhaired girl in her early twenties with chocolate brown eyes. Even though he felt no attraction towards her, Ax had to admit she was a beautiful woman.  
"My name's Claire and there's no need to tell me who you two are." She said to the two men as the got in the back of the cab. Marco rolled his eyes. "I'm sure." He said that in the most sarcastic tone Ax had ever heard him use.  
Claire then smiled a wicked smile. "No, really. I heard all about you guys from my girlfriend. She thinks it's cute."  
"Your _what_?" The two men asked in unison. Claire laughed at them. "Oh yeah. She was laughing her butt off this morning when she saw what was on the news. You've got to admit it is pretty funny. Now, you're on which street again?" 

To Ax's utter amazement, they both survived the cab ride to Marco's. Not to say it was the most comfortable experience he'd ever had in an automobile, but they did survive. That was important.  
Ax was a bit intimidated when he stepped inside the mansion. He had been there once before for a failed attempt at an Animorphs Reunion, but that had been the only time. That time there had been other people in mansion, which made it much easier to handle. This time it was just him and Marco, which was strange enough, but worse in this huge house.  
"Oh crap!" Marco said. "All of your stuff is still at your house, right?" He asked Ax.  
"Yes, it is." Ax said. Marco groaned. "Okay, let's go to the laundry bin and see if there's anything you can fit into."  
So the two of them traveled to the laundry bin and ended up picking out a large and faded Spiderman shirt from deep within the bowels of the laundry baskets. "Okay, that's done with." Marco said. "You can pick out any of the guest rooms you like, most of them are upstairs...bathroom on the left end and a kitchen on the right."  
Ax smiled to himself. "Thank you." He said. Marco shrugged. "Well, what else am I supposed to do?"  
"No, I have not formally thanked you." Ax argued. "I have not thanked you for the support you gave me today, nor have I given you the recognition you deserve for explaining yourself to me. For that, I thank you."  
"I feel like you should be knighting me." Marco commented.  
"I lack the proper equipment to do that." Ax said, then leaned in and kissed the shorter man. "I hope that compensates." Marco was still staring at him when Ax started heading up the stairs. "Good night." the human nothlit said.  
"Um, yeah....night..." Marco mumbled. 

---------------- 

Ax had picked the first room he found upstairs, and began to sleep at almost the exact moment his head hit the pillow. It was hours later when he began dreaming. It was a strange dream, with a mutating creature of some kind. A creature similar to the Ellimist, but without the Ellimist's good intentions. 

WAKIE WAKIE LITTLE ANDALITE. 

Ax did not stir, and just ignored the voice. No point in giving power to a nightmare. He would have thrown his pillow at the voice, but he was absent any pillows. It was when he realized this that the Ellimist had appeared in Ax's dream. That was even stranger. 

****

AXIMILI-ESGARROUTH-ISTHILL, WAKE UP. 

Now even the Ellimist was speaking to him! This was starting to become a very annoying dream. 

****

PRINCE AXIMILI-ESGARROUTH-ISTHILL, BROTHER OF PRINCE ELFANGOR-SIRINAL-SHAMTUL, YOU MUST WAKE UP. The Ellimist's voice was demanding. **WAKE UP!** Now the Ellimist was screaming at him. Ax groaned and sat up to swing a fist as his Dream Ellimist. When his fist hit dead air, Ax opened his eyes. 

Then he realized it wasn't a dream. 

---------------- 

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Talking to the fans, oh my fans, lovely fans... 

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Doctor Strangelove - First of all, thank you so much for fic! It gave me the kick in the butt I needed to start writing this chapter. And just for you we have more Tilopid, swords, and...there was _food_, which counts right? Oh, and more cuteness. Pirate Marco shall live a long and fulfilling life and I'm trying to work out payback for Tompson. Oh, yes, _please_ ignore the foreshadowing! Just pretend it's not there! I don't want people guessing my ending... 

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Myst - Wagh. Yep, the plot thickens lots! Go plot thickeningness! I really did mean to update soon, sorry about that. I like humor. Humor makes sure my readers don't get too depressed (and it's fun to write). 'S okay your sentences jump and jump and jump. See, these are too! **sentences jump** Wow, I didn't know plushies could do that. 0_o...wait a sec, you mean someone actually reads Desperate Freedom? You've got to be kidding me! 

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Evil Slytherin Queen - Hi, new reviewer nice person! **waves** Um, Marco morphed so that nobody would freak out over his broken nose. I should've explained that one, huh? 

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Forlay - I hope you enjoy your plushie, miss. Oh, yeah, I'm going to need to throw some pastries into my next chapters...a lot of pastries. Oh yeah, making Marco freak out is just fun. Torturing him and making him act stupid is fun, too. Ooooh, new ficcie! I love new ficcies...(and a big gggrrrr at the FFN bans) 

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Lauren - Hi again! Um, I got banned for writing a chatroom fic. Which was two years before they even started the ban, but oh well. I'm glad you like Tilopid! And I'm not killing Ax! I'm not killing anybody! At least, I don't think so. Wooohoo! Favorites list! Yay. Okay, I'm shutting up now 'cuz I'm sounding weird. 


	11. Chapter Eleven When Ax Negotiates and Wh...

Author's Note: Wow, I finally wrote the chapter! Go me! Jeez, I had no idea how the heck I was going to write this chapter, but I decided to do it in both Marco and Ax's POVs. I hope you guys like this chapter, and I really hope you don't all band together to burn me at the stake because of it...

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Be Stupid Chapter Eleven: When Ax Negotiates and When Marco Forgets

Ax - Possible Futures 

---------------- 

Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill was yet again at a loss of words. Ax looked at both of the creatures in front of him. One of them was very familiar, though not to Ax's liking. That creature was the Ellimist, known as a tricky meddler throughout all the galaxies in the world. The other creature was a complete unknown. There was something about it that the nothlit found familiar, but he had yet to place his finger on it.  
WE HAVE A DEAL TO MAKE. The new being said in a raspy and dangerous voice. A voice far, far too familiar. Ax's eyes widened as the realization of who, or what, this shape-shifting creature had to be hit him like a ton of bricks. He _had_ to be dreaming! The Andalite-turned-Human thought in desperation. This could _not_ happening!  
The shape-shifting creature then changed its form to a mixture of human and Andalite. "Oh, but it is."  
The creature's voice had come out as a strange mix of human speech and thought-speak, spoken from lips that were not quite there. "You can't escape yourself, my little plaything." The creature told Ax in a singsong voice.  
**THAT IS MORE THAN ENOUGH.** The Ellimist's voice boomed out. **YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TORMENT HIM.**  
The creature turned to the Ellimist, glaring at him with both stalk eyes and regular human eyes. "I'm not!"  
Then the ever-changing mix of Human and Andalite turned towards Ax. "I'm just telling him what he knows by now." With a careless shrug, the blended mix looked over Ax, who had somehow kept from collapsing in shock.  
"I can see through you, you know." The Thing told Ax. The same voice that haunted him. That tormented him at any moment of bewilderment, of confusion. The same force that had led him to attack two human youths against his will. A voice he could not forget. "I see every part of you." The voice continued. "Your thoughts, your feelings, your doubts..." A cruel smile of sorts began to form on the face of the creature. Ax felt the blood in his body boil at each new word the creature was uttering. Would it never shut up? "Your fear, your shame, your soul. I _am_ you."  
Just at the moment Ax was going to abandon all reason and attack the creature, he found himself unable to move.

****

I _TOLD_ YOU TO STOP, ONE. The Ellimist's voice echoed out towards Ax and the creature.  
**AXIMILI-ESGARROUTH-ISTHIL, CALM YOURSELF.** Ax did as told. He released a shaking breath he wasn't aware he'd even been holding. Ax then figured out he was trembling with anger. Had the creature really angered him so much? The thought terrified him. Accepting his fear, Ax turned his head towards the Ellimist.  
**IT IS AS THE ONE SAYS YOU ARE HERE TO STRIKE A DEAL.** The Ellimist told him.  
"What sort of a deal?" Ax asked, ignoring the shifting creature and facing one of the beings he trusted the least.  
The Ellimist looked at Ax with an expression of pity and sorrow. **THE ONLY DEAL POSSIBLE.**  
"What do you mean?" Ax asked the Ellimist. It would only be later that the nothlit would realize he'd begun to shake.  
**YOU ARE A PART OF THE ONE.** The Ellimist explained, motioning towards the shape-shifter.  
**THE ONE IS A SYMBIOTE. IT TAKES BEINGS FROM OTHER PLANETS HOSTAGE, FEEDING UPON THEIR INSECURITIES, FEARS AND DOUBTS UNTIL IT HAS GAINED TOTAL CONTROL OF ITS HOST. THROUGH THE HOST, THE ONE CAUSES HAVOC UPON THE WORLD THE HOST INHABITS.** Ax said nothing for quite a while. He shut his eyes and refused to look at either the Ellimist or the One.  
It was not true. It was not happening. This was an Ellimist trick. That had to be the answer. You could never trust the Ellimist; it was something only a fool would do. He would not play along, Ax promised himself. He would not do it.  
"Are you frightened?" The One teased. "Is that it, my little plaything? Are you frightened to lose everything?"  
Ax opened his eyes and berated himself for allowing the One to play with him with such ease. Curse them both, neither the Ellimist or the One could be trusted. Why was he even bothering to hear any of this?  
"Because you know it's true." The One piped up. "It's not as simple as just losing your head. Even though you have, you know. Look at you, Andalite!" The One smiled a smile so happy it was frightening. "You've given it all up."  
Unable to stand by and just take the One's insults, Ax shot back. "What have I given up?" He asked.  
"Your people and your family." The One said. "You can never go home now. Before you even left, they were all tiring of you. They didn't want to hear your new ideas, the things you'd learned from Earth. You know it as well as I do, there's no room for a warrior with newfangled ideas in Andalite society. And it turns out you're a homosexual as well! Imagine the shame your family must be enduring by now. They must be glad to be rid of you."  
Ax did not dignify the One's remark with a reply. Even if there were fragments of truth in what it said.  
"I won't even mention the humans, either. That's a whole barrel of monkeys I'd rather not discuss."  
Ax's head snapped up at that, and a lipless sort of smug grin crossed the One's face.  
**ONE...** The Ellimist growled at the other being. The One paid no heed.  
"How long, Nothlit? How long before the humans get rid of you, too? You know they are not the kind to accept differences. Look at Christopher Ralph Tompson! Look at the Alliance! Think of all you've seen. They're still people who fight amongst themselves, who insist on separation! They kill based on religion, oppress due to sex and race! What kind of a chance do you have living with them? Just with Andalites, you will not be tolerated."  
Ax opened his mouth to protest, but felt it be closed against his will. Had the One done that?  
"You have your human friends, is that what you were going to tell me? I am not so certain. Jake and Cassie respect you, but would they stand up for you if their society would rebuke for doing so? Your _shorm_ abandoned you to mourn his dead love. Is that loyalty, my dear nothlit? Is that true friendship? _Is it?_"  
"Oh, and _him_. How long before he tires of you? How long before the repercussions of your relationship becomes too much for him? How long before he runs, afraid of the possibility of being close to you? How long before your differences become too glaringly obvious? Listen to me, Andalite. It will never last."  
**ONE!** The Ellimist shouted in rage. The One trembled. **STOP IT NOW.**  
Ax also fought an urge to start shaking, both from the Ellimist's rage and the implications of the One's words.  
**AXIMILI-ESGARROUTH-ISTHILL, LISTEN TO ME.** The Ellimist commanded. Despite his fear, Ax did turn to the Ellimist. **THE ONE IS STARTING TO INFLUENCE YOU. YOU DO NOT HAVE MUCH TIME.** "Much time until what?" Ax asked, aware of the waver in his voice. The Ellimist shook its head, looking so sad.  
**UNTIL YOU TOO SUCCUMB TO THE FATE OF ALL THE ONE'S HOSTS.**  
**UNTIL YOU DESTROY BOTH YOUR PEOPLES.**

Ax was stunned. No words were flowing from his mouth. No tears were leaking from his eyes.  
Then, after what seemed like ages upon ages, the nothlit opened his mouth. "I will destroy them?"  
The Ellimist answered back, and it was obvious he got no pleasure from his answer. **YES.**  
"Figures." The One scoffed. "What are you, anyway? Andalite or Human? Some unallowed mix? A being with two homes, two peoples, but no real place to belong? If I were you, I would kill them all as well."  
Ax glared at the One. To his delight, the being seemed surprised by his action. He still had his free will.  
**NOW IT IS TIME THAT YOU CHOOSE.** The Ellimist said. **STAY ON EARTH, OR...**  
"Wait!" Ax protested. "You played games with my brother, and my _shorm_. How do I know you aren't lying?"  
The Ellimist regarded Ax for a long time before he spoke, his eyes reflecting pity, sadness, and amusement.  
**BECAUSE OF EVERYTHING YOU'VE HEARD, AND EVERYTHING YOU'VE SEEN. I CAN SHOW YOU, AXIMILI. IF YOU WISH, I CAN SHOW YOU. I CAN SHOW YOU WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU STAY ON EARTH.**  
Ax said it without a moment's hesitation. "Show me, Ellimist." 

---------------- 

There was a moment of displacement. Then the moment continued. Ax had no idea where he _was_!  
The Human Nothlit looked around him and realized he was on what looked like a ship of some kind.  
It was not an Andalite dome ship. That much was for certain. Ax had the strange feeling that this ship was _human_.  
What year was it? Ax had no idea. There was no doubt that it could be the present. Humans hadn't yet begun space travel. There were a few prototype ships being made now, but nothing as advanced as the ship he was in.  
Knowing humans, it wasn't that far from the present. It still worried Ax how intelligent humans, as a species, could be at times. Though not all of the time, of course. Anyone who'd been on Earth for ten human minutes knew _that_.  
Ax watched as a person stepped into the room. A man in his mid-twenties, though a bit taller than the usual height for that age. The man commanded a sort of immediate respect despite his youth. Ax had always known that.  
The man was Prince Jake. He was a few years older, but Ax had no doubt in his mind to the man's identity.  
"Jake!" Ax started at the panicked tone in voice, which was coming from outside the room he now stood in.  
Ax knew that voice as well. It was Cassie.  
Prince Jake then ran into the other room and despite better judgment, Ax ran in after him.  
What he saw made his blood run cold.  
Cassie was knocked out beside what looked like a control panel. Ax also noticed dark blood under her head.  
That sight was enough to make him nauseous. Tobias was on the ground as well. His wings looked broken.  
Jake was gaping in horror at the sight, and Ax had no reason to doubt he was doing the same. Then he saw it.  
He hadn't even seen it at first, but now he couldn't tear his eyes away. Marco was wrestling someone for what Ax guessed was the weapons control. Marco was also losing. Badly. In less than a second, a fist reached out and hit Marco square in the jaw. Marco lost his balance and hit the deck, landing on his head. Ax then saw the dark red blood pooling under him, and the nothlit fought an urge to scream. Then the attacker, who had remained shadowed from view, called out in a merry voice. "Prince Jake! How are you?"  
Ax felt his legs collapse underneath him. Neither Jake nor this twisted version of himself noticed.  
Prince Jake's voice escaped from his lips with a frightened tremble. "Ax, what are you doing?"  
The Twisted Ax turned to face Jake and Ax felt a feeling of disquiet. There was something wrong with this version of himself. There was something wrong with his eyes. _Those weren't his eyes!_  
The other Ax's eyes were a strange bright red and showed an obvious bloodlust. "They asked me that, too."  
The Twisted Ax then motioned around him to his unconscious companions, his hand stopping to point at Marco.  
"_Him_ in particular. Many times. It got very irritating." Twisted Ax smiled an ironic smirk. "They don't understand."  
"Understand what?" Jake asked, his voice showing his suspicion and fear.  
"The Andalites are the meddlers of the galaxy, Prince Jake. They're the most self-righteous and arrogant creatures of all time, humans being the only close equal. Think about it for a moment. They refuse to share the morphing technology with any other species regardless of the fact that it could do the whole world good. Look at the Taxxons! They could be freed of their hunger through the power of morphing! Look at the Yeerks, even! If they had the power to morph, they could stay in an adequate body with no need to infest! Yet we arrogant Andalites refuse to share our miracle. Do you think a people like that deserves to continue on?"  
Prince Jake had grown pale as a sheet, Ax realized. Jake was shaking in fear. Fear of this version of _himself_.  
Ax was reeling from the events unfolding before him as the other Ax began to speak again. "I will set this ship to Maximum Burn, right above the planet. It won't cause a complete genocide, but many of my people will die. Isn't that wonderful?"  
"You're killing your own people!" Jake shouted. Twisted Ax smiled. "I'm aware of that."  
"Now, with the utmost respect, I can't let you stop me." Twisted Ax then let a fist fly and Ax heard a crack as Jake slumped against the wall, unconscious. Twisted Ax smiled and then laughed. "Computer? Maximum Burn!"  
As Ax hit the ground, his mind unable to take any more of this onslaught, he felt himself leave. 

---------------- 

****

NOW WHAT DO YOU DECIDE?  
Ax's eyes snapped back open as he regained consciousness. He was back here with the Ellimist. So _that_ had been the future the Ellimist had wanted to show him. Ax had only one question. "What happened?"  
The Ellimist sighed before answering. **YOU HAD BEEN UNDER THE ONE'S CONTROL FOR CLOSE TO A YEAR. THE ONE HAD DECIDED THE TIME HAD COME TO ERADICATE THE ANDALITES AND HUMANS. ALL OF YOU ANIMORPHS HAD BEEN HEADING TOWARDS A MEETING ABOUT A TREATY BETWEEN YOUR PEOPLES. AS YOU CAN SEE, THINGS DID NOT END IDEALLY.**  
"Ellimist, was that me?" Ax asked. The Ellimist shook and nodded his head. **IT WAS YOUR BODY, YES. IT WAS _NOT_ YOUR MIND, HEART, OR SOUL ACTING ON THAT SHIP. THAT WAS ALL THE DOING OF THE ONE. DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION?**  
"Yes, it does." Ax said. He took a deep breath before speaking again. "Now, what choices do I have, Ellimist?"  
**YOU CAN CHOOSE TO STAY HERE ON EARTH AND FIGHT AGAINST THE ONE'S CONTROL, IF YOU THINK YOU CAN. THE OTHER CHOICE IS TO BE PLACED IN ANOTHER TIMELINE. I CANNOT MAKE ANY GUARANTEES, BUT YOU WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO BREAK FREE OF THE ONE. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF FREEING YOURSELF AND ALL THE ONE'S OTHER PRISIONERS.**  
Ax frowned. He knew things could not be as simple as the Ellimist was describing to him. "There's something else."  
**YES, THERE IS. WILL YOU BE WILLING TO ACCEPT THAT?** The Ellimist asked.  
"What would I have done, Ellimist? After destroying the ship, what would I have done?" Ax asked.  
The Ellimist frowned. **DO YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW?** Ax nodded in a fierce gesture.  
**YOU WOULD HAVE KILLED THEM ALL. JAKE, CASSIE, TOBIAS, AND MARCO ALL WOULD HAVE DIED AT YOUR HANDS. ALONG WITH COUNTLESS INNOCENTS. YOU WOULD HAVE KILLED THEM ALL.**  
Ax stayed quiet as that sunk in. He would have killed them? Killed the only family he had left in the galaxy?  
**THE CHOICE IS STILL YOURS, AXIMILI.** The Ellimist told Ax. **I HAVE NO CONTROL OVER THAT. WE DON'T INTERFERE IN THE LIVES OF OTHER SPECIES.**  
Ax laughed a bitter but amused laugh. "Bullshit." He said.  
The One gaped, glaring at the Ellimist, then at Ax and back again. "Ellimist, that wasn't the deal!"  
**NO DEAL HAS BEEN MADE YET, ONE.** The Ellimist said. **AXIMILI, WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE? TO STAY UNDER CONTROL OF THE ONE, OR DO YOU ACCEPT YOUR CHANCE FOR FREEDOM?**  
Ax took a deep breath. "I accept." He said. "I accept." 

---------------- 

****

Marco - Premonition 

---------------- 

Unlike Ax, Marco hadn't gotten any sleep that night. He'd been up all night answering calls. Blowing off the reporters was no big deal; he was more than used to that already. Cassie had called him every few minutes to make sure he and Ax were doing okay. Marco really loved Cassie, but he was getting very tempted to tell her to knock it off. The funniest call though had been the one from his parents. That _wasn't_ a conversation he wanted to relive again anytime soon. To his sheer horror Marco heard the phone ringing. He leapt up to pull the phone out of the wall, but then he spotted the Caller ID. It read Cassie Branch in teeny tiny letters.  
Marco then seized the receiver with a flare. "Cassie, I love you, but this is, like, the twentieth time!"  
"Uh, Marco?" The voice on the other end said. "It's not Cassie. It's me, Jake."  
"Jake?" Marco repeated in surprise. "What're you doing with Cassie's phone?"  
Marco could almost _hear_ Jake's shrug. "I'm driving her back from the hospital. I just wanted to say hi."  
"Yeah, hi back." Marco said. "I can't believe you guys aren't back from the hospital yet."  
"Well, it's a long drive, not whatever you're thinking." Jake quipped back. Marco laughed. "Okay, whatever you say, big guy. While you're at it, could you tell Cassie that while I appreciate it, I don't need five zillion calls to know how much she cares?"  
"Will do." Jake said. "See you later."  
"Yeah, see ya." Marco replied back. Then Jake turned off the phone. Marco hung his up. Then, as an afterthought, he unplugged it. With a groan Marco threw his head backward off the chair. His mind was reeling with the earlier events of the day. Seeing Tobias again had been something he wouldn't have expected in a million years. Marco would be the first to admit that he and Tobias weren't close any sense of the word, but that didn't mean he didn't consider Tobias a friend. He was just not the kind of friend you hung out with all the time.  
He didn't worry about him like Cassie and Ax had, nor did he have Jake's guilt. He did worry about the bird now and then, but he understood the reasons Tobias had done what he did. He got it. Even _he_ knew that Rachel and Tobias had been in love. Though he didn't want to admit it, he understood Tobias's feelings.  
More now than he had before. That was something Marco didn't want to explore, though.  
The Birdboy had returned. That was weird event number one and it didn't measure to weird event number two.  
His career was not unsalvageable but picking it back up was going to be rough. He was an Animorph for Christ's sake, so he knew that the general public would respect him for that. If he wanted any of his career left, he was going to have to rely on that fact a lot. He'd been outed, and top that off, with a member of another species.  
Oh yeah, the ratings on the show were going to plummet for a while. The book sales, too.  
The funny part was that Marco felt it was, all in all, damn worth it. Not like he'd ever _say_ that, but it's what he felt.  
Speaking of which, there was weird event three. He had joked now and then about Ax staying on Earth for good (the boy _was_ a cinnamon bun addict), but he didn't give a flying flip about the fact that Ax was an alien. Maybe it was something about the fact that he'd changed his shape about thirty times a day that made him appreciate how little outside appearances meant, but it hadn't mattered to him. Granted, it was weird to think that the lips he'd been kissing weren't real human lips. But did it matter that much in the end? Sure as hell didn't affect the kissing in any way, Marco thought with a grin he couldn't quite hide.  
On that thought Marco wondered if Ax was still awake. He doubted it, but he was still curious.  
Then he fought back a feeling of disquiet as he realized he hadn't heard any sound from upstairs in a long while.

Abandoning all reason Marco started to run.

__

I'm just being paranoid; I'm just being paranoid. Marco told himself as he ran, more than once falling flat on his face, only to pull himself back up again. _Nothing happened. He's just asleep and I'm freaking out._  
Marco could not deny the feeling of dread that was rising up in his stomach, though. It had been obvious that something wrong had been going on with the Andalite. Ax had admitted to it earlier today. Something about a voice, about hearing a voice...Marco's next thought could only be described, as a four-letter word not said in polite company.  
Marco increased his stair-flying speed and cursed himself for having bought such a big house. Couldn't his legs move any faster? For a moment he considered flying up the stairs but then he figured the morphing would take too much time. It was faster to just run like this, exhaustion be damned. He hit the door with a thud and came close to falling on his butt. Thanking the powers that be for a sense of balance, Marco wrenched the bedroom door open. 

---------------- 

It was not the sight he'd quite expected. Not like he'd really known what to think, but this wasn't something he would have imagined. Ax was standing next to his bed and in front of him was a being too familiar for comfort.  
Ax was standing in front of the Ellimist. Marco also saw another creature near the two of them. It looked something like a mix between an Andalite and a human. Sort of like they'd caught an Andalite in mid-morph, but with results that were only somewhat more pleasing to the eyes. "I accept." Marco heard Ax say. "I accept."  
Marco cried out in shock as Ax's human form began melting, shifting, morphing back to Andalite. It wasn't possible! He'd been there the very moment Ax had lost his power to morph, the exact moment he'd gotten trapped as a human! How was this happening? _What was going on here?_  
Things then sped forward in an insane acceleration. Ax's eyes widened as his stalk eyes had glimpsed Marco standing outside the door gaping in shock. Marco's eyes widened as he saw the One unnoticed by Ax or the Ellimist, staring at Ax with a concentration of a murderer. He never could explain how he knew it, but something in Marco's mind told him that was the exact intention of the One. The One was going to kill Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill.  
Not sure _what_ he was thinking, not sure where his common sense had flown off to, Marco rushed into the room. He felt Ax falling underneath him as he shoved the Andalite to the ground, locking his arms around his neck. Not tight enough to cause any harm, just tight enough to make sure he still had a hold on him. Marco felt a strange sort of heat pass over his back. It made Marco think of a Dracon Beam, which was what it was.  
Marco saw Ax's eyes with surprise as something seemed to have occurred to him.  
Before you forget, I want to tell you something. Ax said. I love you.  
It happened before Marco had a chance to ask Ax what he was babbling about. A warmth of sorts filled his body, but the pressure of it caused him to shut his eyes. When he opened his eyes Marco saw nothing.

His arms were in a circular position like they'd been holding onto something.  
Holding onto something, he knew that much. Something.

Holding on to _what?_

---------------- 

****

For the Strange People That Like This:

Kitai-Shinsei: Woohoo, I'm converting people to M/A! That was the whole point of this fic! =P No, seriously, I'm glad you like it. Wow, I'm still weirded out that people love my crazy lady. I'm glad you like her, though! Phew, I'm relieved about the nothlit thing. I thought people were going to hate me for that. It is Hilton backwards? That's so weird! The weird evil voice is Ax's demented psyche...no, really, it is the One. Once again, I'm glad you like the fic!

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Doctor Strangelove: Ahhh! It's a double review! Yes, I love Adventures in Clubbing and you have to update it soon or else I'll smack you. Or set my muses on you, one of the two. Yay, go cycles of writing and insipiring! It's true, Adventures in Clubbing helped me write more! You know, I'm going to have to tie you to a chair and gag you because you keep figuring out my plot twists. STOP DOING THAT! And I'm sure that Marco and Ax wanted to knock boots and all, but isn't that moving a little bit fast? They've been together barely two weeks! Well, okay, I confess I can't write straight-out NC-17. An R I can do, but NC-17 isn't in me. At least not m/m NC-17. My apologies. I'm glad you liked the food fight. That was just thrown in on a whim! I have it under good authority that Mr. Tompson is honored by receiving the "Most Hated Character In All Mediums Award".

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GregNorc: I'm glad you liked the story so far! I hope you liked this chapter, too! I'm always so worried I can't write these slash stories right, being a weird het girl and all...nevermind that, if I keep talking about that I'll never shut up. Like I said to the reviewer before, I admit I can't write "hot and heavy" stuff, and I know it's sappy. I'm going to try to make any other stories I write a little less corny. Kind of interesting it's my two guy reviewers who want this to have a high rating. Hmm...no, I'm just kidding. But I promise I'll write a makeout scene or something like that in another story. Is that good for you?

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Myst: Read Desperate Freedom! Read aaaallll my stories! =P ALL OF THEM! Whoa, I'm Great and Glorious now? I'm not sure I can handle that kind of pressure! **panics** I confess the Tobias/Ax stuff was corny, but they haven't seen each other in three years! It seemed approriate at the time. Um, why would Jake feel left out by Ax telling Tobias that he still had him? Unless you meant Marco, and all is okay there because he wasn't in the room. It isn't you, I'm not that good at writing Birdboy and the food fight was an exercise in "Things the Characters would never do", but all for the sake of the funny. Oh, yes. Yes, Ax is not the amazing food monger any longer. Most of the time. Tobias _is_ an evil birdie, didn't you know? And I'm going to try to hold my tongue in an as much as possible here, but I wouldn't bet a hundred bucks on the C/Ronnie thing. Maybe it's just cause J/T isn't my bag. No offense to J/T fans or fics ('cuz those are good!), it just never appealed to me that much. Oh, and sorry about the slow chapter-writing thing. I'm a bad procrastinator/writer. **hands Myst a paper fan** Hit me as much as you want.

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Lauren: Look for more hysterical Marco, he'll be showing up still. I'm glad you like the food fight! Yeah, the world ain't too happy about Marco and Ax. Sucks, don't it? Yay, I'm loved! **cheers** I love you too, you're nice and you always review my story! My kittens are doing fine now. In fact, they're tearing up my house.


	12. Chapter Twelve When Marco Wonders

Author's Note: Wow, just a month in between updates. This has got to be a record! My apologies this took a while, but other fic ideas sidetracked me. **shameless plug** Go read Threads of Fate! Please?  
I apologize if this chapter is confusing. It wasn't deliberate, I'm just a bad writer. Feel free to ask about anything in your review. This is probably a good time to mention that the next two chapters, unless a natural disaster strikes, will be the last -- and more than likely, the longest. Don't kill me for ending it! (And another series of mine "might" turn out slash, hint hint.)  
Um, what else was I going to mention? Oh yeah -- about the shirt in the room. No, Ax didn't sleep in the nude. At least, not as far as I know. It's just kinda "there". (I am revealing no plot elements!) There's a reference to The Breakfast Club in this chapter and an unintentional one to Spiderman. Props to anyone who finds them!  
Why is there no rendition of Jake's visit to Marco's place in 54? Because I couldn't borrow my friend's copy. Sorry, guys.  
Okay, I'm done now. My elbows are hurting after the six minutes in push-up position, anyway. Enjoy this confusing M/A-less chapter.

****

Be Stupid Chapter Twelve: When Marco Wonders

Marco had decided he hated tuxedos.

They were the spawn of the devil. Stiff uncomfortable things invented by polite society _just_ to irritate him.  
Under normal circumstances he never would have worn one. But was this a normal circumstance? No.  
Unnatural circumstances had this uncanny ability to force him into situations that were strange and bizarre.  
Sometime during this long journey called life Marco had decided that ability had something to do with him and him alone. Only he could have had the luck to wander into a construction alone at night and end up meeting with a near-death alien. Only he could end up rich beyond his wildest dreams because of it. It was all part of some cosmic joke.  
Not that he didn't enjoy the money. If he'd hated it, why would he have gone on getting more of it? Marco loved the money. It was his key to his happiness, as he would have said. If anyone bothered to ask, that is. They didn't.  
All they wanted from him was to show up at their parties, soirees, and premiers. Tell a funny joke or two or maybe a story about the war. All anyone seemed to want from him these days was to be The Marco for them. The funny guy who had been drug into a war against his will. The guy with a sad past whom could still laugh. The guy who would amuse them at his own expense in his stiff-as-an-iron-board tuxedo. It was all right, though. He _was_ happy.  
"I heard you broke up with that model." Marco looked over at a middle-aged lady in a turquoise dress.  
He said nothing to her. Then he decided to walk away.  
"But didn't you?" The lady asked behind him. Marco gave her no answer. He didn't need to. He was happy.  
The model the lady had been referring to was a girl named Candice Reese. She was a smart cookie, a relief from the bevy of body-and-no-brain girls he'd been dating as of late. Even though he didn't want to admit it, he had liked Candice. They'd been together for maybe three months, though due to conflicting schedules, the amount of time they had really spent together was close to five days, so they weren't that close.  
Which was why he was so perplexed. He'd felt down in the dumps ever since Candice had broken up with him (over the phone no less!). The timing couldn't have been any worse, either. It was maybe five minutes after Marco had found himself in one of the upstairs bedrooms of his mansion with no recollection of why he needed to be there. The whole incident had bothered him. Then Candice had decided to call in with her wonderful news.  
Marco could still remember her words now. "I really do like you, and I want us to stay friends." Candice had said.  
"But this relationship just isn't what I need. I need a guy who can be my friend, and this relationship isn't providing me that. I'm not all that happy with us as a couple, it isn't working. You're not what I need, and I don't think that I'm...I'm what you need, either. Call me back sometime, maybe we can talk about this over a cup of joe?"  
She hung up after that. Marco hadn't even been able to get a word in. What was worse, though, was that he couldn't deny that she was right. He and Candice hadn't seemed slated for coupledom. She was a nice, smart and amazing-looking woman that he'd let become another one of his bevy of dames, and he felt horrible about it.  
Candice had deserved more than him. Hell, everyone deserved more than him, Marco thought in a wave of self-pity.  
That was what was perplexing him underneath it all. In the beginning he wasn't bothered by his breakup with her. They weren't right for each other and he had known that. He was glad she'd had the balls to say it. Now, though?  
Now he felt like getting himself a good, stiff drink and he was not the drinking kind of man. Marco didn't place much stock in getting piss drunk. The thing that was really pissing off the short man, though, was the fact that he couldn't explain why he felt that way. If he and Candice had been going somewhere, it would make sense.  
But it didn't feel like that. It felt like he had lost a relationship -- lost someone -- which had meant much more to him.  
Not that it mattered. He was happy. 

----------------

He'd taken his limo home. After his not-so-graceful departure from whatever Hollywood debacle he'd been attending, Marco found he didn't have anywhere else to go. So he opted for staying at home for the night. Maybe he could his mind there. He hoped to the powers that be that he could clear up the questions abounding in his head.  
It wasn't as if his love life were doomed, Marco tried to encourage himself. He could get another girlfriend easy enough. There were tons of ladies willing to be with him, it was no secret. Maybe he'd have better luck with them than he had with Candice.  
_But is that what I want?_ Marco asked himself. He was shocked to find that he wasn't sure. His relationships hadn't been working out so great as of late. Would rushing headfirst into another one help? Maybe he should wait. Wait until he found someone who he could sympathize more than the random models that had been clinging to him. It seemed like a good idea, Marco thought. Except one problem. For some reason, the thought frightened him.  
The thought of being close enough to anyone to maintain a long relationship scared him. For reasons he couldn't explain, the thought of that kind of intimacy scared him shitless. That was okay, though, Marco told himself.  
He still had his books and the TV Show to work on. He didn't need a relationship. He was still in youth, damn it!  
He had all the time in the world for romance. He also had all the time in the world to digest and figure out what was bothering him so much about his and Candice's split.  
Even if he didn't want to figure those answers out.  
"Sir, we've reached your stop." Marco looked up at his chauffeur from all the way in the back of the long vehicle.  
"Oh." Was all that the former Animorph had to say. "Thanks, Jenkins." Marco decided to open the door himself and then walked up to the front of the automobile and handed the old man in front a two hundred-dollar bill.  
Jenkins took the money with a great smile and drove off. Marco headed inside his home.

He fought a shiver as he walked in. It was his home and he knew the place was as safe as he could make it, but there was something that would always be creepy about being in a house this large all by himself. He didn't like it.  
_I'll have to get used to it._ He told himself. _If I won't be dating for a while._  
Not like that stopped the shivers down Marco's back, but it was a help. With a long intake of breath, the young man began heading upstairs to his bedroom. Maybe he could chat up Jake for a while to take his mind off things, he thought. So with that purpose in mind the short-haired youth headed towards his bedchamber undistracted.  
Until he passed the other room. The room where he'd been in moments before Candice had broken up with him.  
Marco couldn't explain it, but he felt a strange feeling as he got close to that room. It was almost as if something, or someone, was guiding him to it. It was if there was something important about that room that he had forgotten.  
But what? What could there be? He'd checked every bit of the mansion for anything suspicious before he'd bought it, and the last time someone had stayed in there was close to two years ago. There was nothing.  
With that assessment Marco headed into his room, got out of that godforsaken tuxedo, and called Jake. 

----------------

Marco woke up to searing pain in his eyes. God, kill the sunlight! He wasn't sure how it had happened, but he was on the left side of the bed right in front of the large window outlooking his yard. Right in front of the sunlight.  
Curse his body. It had betrayed him during the night to the side of the bed where he knew he would awaken to pain. It just was not fair in the slightest, Marco concluded. Other people's bodies didn't betray them like this, he was certain of it. Other people's bodies liked them. Covering his poor hurting eyes with an arm, Marco managed to throw the sheets off himself. He fumbled around his room half-blind, trying to protect his still-stinging eyes with his not-so-muscular arm as he attempted to find the clothing he'd picked out for the _Time_ interview he had this morning.  
He'd decided that he wouldn't be wearing another tuxedo until next New Year's Day. So before he'd dropped from utter exhaustion, Marco was sure to pick out a shirt and some nice slacks. The only problem was that he had no recollection of where the hell he had put the nice shirt and slacks. The sun-induced blindness wasn't helping, either. Taking little baby steps, Marco headed towards what he _thought_ was his closet. With his free arm the short man felt around him. He was certain he could feel a wall, which meant he was either near his closet or right next to the door out. Marco frowned as he took another baby step forward. Then, without any warning, he crashed into the ground.  
"What the!" He managed to screech out before his butt hit floor with a hard thud. Wait a moment, he thought. Something was underneath him. Underneath his butt now, but one can't be particular. Marco scowled and retrieved the object from under his buttocks. It was a toy sword made out of wood. On the hilt the word "Pirateland" was scrawled in gaudy old-fashioned letters. Nothing spectacular about it, the poor thing wouldn't have even cost five bucks outside wherever the heck this "Pirateland" was. His early morning blindness gone, Marco swung the sword out in front of him. It looked a little worn, though more from sitting around and not being used than from anyone having ever played with it. How had it gotten into his house? Marco hadn't bought it himself, and he was sure he would've noticed and remembered if any of the ladies who visited La Casa de Marco had brought in a kid's sword. Marco threw the sword onto his bed and decided to put it off until later. He had somewhere to go.  
Besides, it was only a toy. Nothing significant there.

Marco snatched up a light navy shirt and black slacks from the floor of his bedroom and set to changing and making himself look decent in public. It wasn't like he had time to fart around, anyway. He had three fun-filled hours of waiting through traffic as it was. All right, so Jenkins was the one who'd be driving, but Marco had never been a good backseat driver. Not to mention all of humanity had seemed to decide he should never be behind the wheel.  
Poor Jenkins.  
Even he knew it was immature. Even before it flew out of his mouth, the poor part of his psyche that attempted to seem mature was berating him for saying it. But Marco had said it, and there was nothing anyone could do to change that. Poor Jenkins.  
"Are we there yet?" The rich ex-Animorph asked. He couldn't see Jenkins's reaction, but the old man's tone of voice spoke volumes. "No, sir." He said in a tight voice just at the tip of control. "We are not there yet."  
Marco sighed and leaned back in the black, cushy seat of his limo and took another sip of his ginger ale.  
After an agonizing three hours, Marco heard Jenkins's voice again. The old geezer was yelling at him.  
"We've arrived at your stop, sir!" Jenkins's voice, loud, rasping, and irritated, awoke Marco from the trance traffic jam had placed over him. With a grogginess not unlike the kind a kid had from waking up at three in the morning, Marco pulled himself out of the car and closed the door behind him. He went up to the front of the vehicle and gave Jenkins a wave goodbye before the old man sped off, fed up with his young charge, no doubt.  
With a load groan Marco threw his head back and got ready to traverse the labyrinth of the _Time_ building. 

----------------

"And that concludes our interview."  
The blue-haired Nothlit looked at Marco in pure amusement. "Off the record, you were out of it the whole two hours."  
Marco glared back at the journalist, who had been trouble for him ever since the two of them had met. It was about five months ago after an interview with Time. The two of them hadn't been able to finish up their interview in the allotted time slot, so they went out for coffee. Marco had for better or worse made a friend out of the journalist.  
There wasn't any relationship to speculate about, though. The girl was an outspoken lesbian.  
A few months ago Marco had found out that on top of that, she was a human Nothlit. Her parents had gone to Earth not long after her birth, and they had decided to make the planet their permanent home. It'd struck them as much more of a liberated and open place than the homeworld had been.  
"If I were to guess, I'd say you're still moping over that Candice chick, right?" Tilopid-Eridks-Tusdne asked.  
Marco shrugged. "It's not any of your business." Tilopid looked at him. "So that's a yes?"  
"No!" Marco protested. Seeing the skeptical look on Tilopid's face, he sighed. "Okay, maybe I am moping."  
Tilopid raised an eyebrow. "You guys weren't together very long, though." She said in a thoughtful tone.  
"I mean, sure she was cute and all, but it's not like you can't have any woman you want!" Tilopid shouted.  
It was Marco's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Well, any straight woman, anyway." Tilopid amended.  
Marco shrugged. "I know that." He said and sighed in exasperation at himself.  
A worried look crossed Tilopid's face and her eyebrows knitted together. "Wanna talk about it?"  
Marco shook his head. "I don't feel I know you well enough, nothing personal." Tilopid laughed at him.  
"So? People don't know their therapists, do they? Come on, it's better than keeping it inside and I want an excuse to get out of this cramped building." Tilopid told Marco point-blank. The short man threw up his hands in resignation.  
"Fine. But you're buying the coffee." He said. Tilopid faked a gasp. "But you're a rich movie star!" She cried.  
"Correction. I'm a cheap movie star." Marco said.  
"You suck." Tilopid groaned, and Marco just laughed.

The Blue-Haired Nothlit and the Short-Haired Man crossed the street entered the Breaking Grounds Cafe.  
The cafe was a relaxed place, cool as a cucumber. Except without the taste of a cucumber, of course.  
The walls were painted dark green and the majority of the establishment was covered in dark green vinyl. Only the legs of the tables and chairs were spared, being as they were made of a polished wood.  
"Hey, I know that kid!" Tilopid whispered as she and Marco walked into the cafe. Marco followed her finger and looked up at a zit-faced blonde boy who was watching the customers in his exhaustion. "Johnson! Brian Johnson!"  
The zit-faced boy looked up and waved. Tilopid dragged poor Marco behind her as she went up to the counter to catch up, er, order something. "It's been forever since I've seen you!" The Andalite Nothlit squealed at the boy.  
The teenager shrugged. "Yeah, well, I don't need to go to the meetings if my dads aren't going, you know?"  
In silence, Marco began to freak out. However, neither the boy or Tilopid noticed this, so they went on with their conversation.  
"But I thought you were hitting off with that girl!"  
"Which girl?"  
"The one with the two moms who liked to sing during sex!"  
"Oh yeah..."  
Marco decided to interrupt before his fragile hold on sanity was destroyed. "I'll have a Cheese Danish and a latte, please."  
"Coming right up." Brian Johnson said, and true to his word, produced food and drink from the coffee machine and display case beside him a moment later. Marco then ran off to an empty table while Tilopid continued chatting with her teenage friend.  
He noticed a lady with long, curly dark locks and a body concealed in a sundress smirking at him but he paid no heed.  
A strained moment or two later Tilopid sat down across from Marco with an Italian soda and a Strawberry Danish.  
"Sorry," The Nothlit said as she sunk into her seat. "It's been a while since I've seen Brian, and I had to catch up. Poor boy, he was having some trouble at school. With his love life, too, but I think I convinced him to fix that."  
Marco noticed the satisfied smirk on his not-quite-a-friend's lips as she added that last part.  
"I head something about a girl." The ex-Animorph commented, trying to fuel a conversation. Tilopid nodded.  
"Brian's so shy, and the kids at his school don't help. They all assume he's gay just because of his parents." Tilopid said.  
"That sucks." Marco muttered as he took a bite of his Danish. Tilopid gave him an evil look. "Speaking of love..."  
"You're not really a lesbian and have been harboring feelings for me since we met?" Marco replied.  
Tilopid gave him a death glare. "No." Marco had to hide a smile at his success at pissing the Nothlit off.  
"I want to talk about you and that Candice girl." Tilopid stated with no tact whatsoever.  
"You think?" Marco said. Tilopid frowned at him. "Oh stop joking and be serious for a moment, you asshole!"  
"Why are you so worked up?" Tilopid asked. "I mean, it's no secret you date around. So what's so important about this girl?"  
"Nothing much, really." Marco said. Tilopid raised an eyebrow. "Meaning what?" Marco shrugged at her.  
"Just what I said. We weren't close, we never slept together, and it was just a fling. Simple as that." Marco said.  
At Tilopid's look, he sighed and spilled out a little of the truth. "She was too good for me."  
Tilopid looked ready to disagree but her mouth stayed shut for once. "She needs something more than I can give."  
She of the Bright Blue Hair took a sip of her soda before she said it. "Like a man who's not afraid to love her."  
Marco looked up at his personal interviewer, stunned. "What the _hell_ do you mean?"  
"You're a Grade-A exhibit of a man with relationship phobia." Tilopid stated, twirling her straw. "Not that I can blame you, what you've gone through would scare anyone from the possibility of a deep loving relationship."  
"Since when did you become such an expert?" Marco remarked, not without a sense of bitter sarcasm.  
"Hey," Tilopid protested. "That was uncalled for." Marco shrugged, feigning indifference.  
"So was saying that I'm afraid to love." He commented. "You sure that isn't the truth?" Tilopid asked.  
"Hear me out for a minute." The Journalist pleaded. "You hop from girl to girl, most of whom are looking for a quick boink and a little fame. Your relationships with them dissolve quicker than fat in a frying pan. You never get to trust them, never get to feeling anything more than an attraction towards them. Were any of the women you've been dating 'that important' to you? Could you have sacrificed your money, your show, to stay with them?"  
Marco did not reply. He wasn't sure he wanted to. "You're scared to have that kind of relationship. It's okay, it's normal, and considering your past, not surprising at all." Tilopid then smiled. "But if you want to get past it, that's all going to be up to you."  
"Up to me?" Marco repeated, smiling a weak smile. "Now why does that sound familiar?"  
Tilopid stuck out her tongue at him. The short man let out a feeble laugh, rocked by what he had been told.  
"Well, since you're so intelligent, wanna tell me how I can 'get past this'?" Marco asked with no joking in his voice.  
Tilopid took a moment to answer as her eyes scanned the cafe. "You could try dating guys."  
"Ha ha. Very funny." Marco deadpanned. "Oh, but think about it!" Tilopid enthused. "It would be a fresh new start."  
"I don't think so." Marco said in a light tone. Tilopid laughed. "Oh, but why not?"  
Marco pretended to mull over the matter. "It'd be weird." He said. Tilopid gaped at him, her jaw almost unhooked.  
"Don't you dare tell me that's the only reason you're with girls!" She screamed, earning many strange looks.  
"Um, no." Marco stated after the people had stopped staring. "I never thought about going out with a guy."  
"You mean the thought has, honest to God, has never occurred to you?" Tilopid inquired. "Well," Marco started.  
Tilopid cocked an eyebrow. "Maybe I should leave before you uncover my hidden bisexuality." He finished.  
Marco did try his hardest not to laugh as the Nothlit-Now-Journalist lurched over the table to strange him before he left, but the urge to bust out laughing was too much. It was right after that when his instinct to run took over.

Marco stepped out of the cafe and pulled out his cell phone to call Jenkins to go home. Heck, maybe he could even offer the crazy-shrink-in-training a ride. Marco sighed and leaned up against the wall of the building.

She'd had a point.

Not about the gay thing so much, but the girls. Tilopid had been right about the girls. Even Candice. Damn, maybe Candice foremost. She had been too good for him, a woman who could stay with someone who would love her.  
He hadn't even given her six days. Damn it all to hell. Yet, and even though he had no way to explain it, the ex-Animorph felt that the way he had been feeling about his breakup with Candice wasn't all that much over _Candice_.  
It was nonsense of course. It wasn't like he'd gotten involved with anyone after their breakup and it wasn't like he'd been thinking about another woman while they were together. Still, that odd feeling persisted. Something had been off for the past few days. Being in one of his guestrooms with no explanation and feeling drawn to the place. A toy sword showing up from out of nowhere in his room. What the hell was it, the Ellimist?  
_Toys don't seem like the Ellimist's thing._ Marco thought to himself. _The only one who'd use a sword as some kind of message would be Ax._  
God, that was too easy to picture. Only his Andalite friend, king of All Things Beyond Weird, would use a kiddy sword as some kind of message-beacon thing. Even the Ellimist wasn't _that_ messed up.  
As Marco was musing over this, the curly-haired vixen smirking at him inside the cafe also stepped out.  
"Are you who I think you are?" She asked. Marco turned to look at the woman. Up close, he could see that she was quite a looker. Beautiful, even. There was a seductive and playful grin on her pink lips and the cut of her sundress showed off her body rather well. "You know what I mean. Are you _the_ Marco?"  
On reflex, Marco scowled. He hated it when people called him that. "Yes. Who are you?" He asked.  
"Sarah Jameson. I'm one of your biggest fans." The woman said, plastering on a winning smile. Marco swore he could feel his stomach churn.  
"You are?" He asked, faking interest like a pro. Come to think of it, he was a pro at this kind of thing by now. He just had to be. It wouldn't be fair if he wasn't, considering the tons of fanmail his show received each day.  
"Yes. I was wondering if maybe..." But Marco cut her short by whipping out his cell phone. "Sorry," he said.  
"I need to make a call." Sarah shrugged and thanking God for the distraction, Marco called Jenkins and asked for a ride from the cafe. He also warned Jenkins that he'd have a strange companion. Referring to Tilopid, though, not Sarah Jameson. After ending the call Marco prepared himself for the torture of conversing with Sarah until Jenkins came and picked him up.  
"Anyway, I was wondering if maybe sometime you'd like to..." Marco groaned in his head. He had no idea who this girl even _was_!  
Tilopid then rushed out all of a sudden. "You're an evil bastard." She told Marco, who just smirked.  
Sarah Jameson stood alone in peeved silence. "Is she your girlfriend?" Sarah asked Marco.  
The Short Man and the Blue-Haired Lady exchanged shocked and digusted looks. "No!" They both protested.  
"Then I was wondering if you'd like to, maybe, go out with me on Saturday night?" Sarah Jameson asked.  
Marco's throat closed up. It wasn't like fans hadn't him on him before, but not to so bold a measure! The bodyguards were able to fend off that kind of sort. Where, Marco wondered, were his bodyguards when he needed them?  
"I don't know you at all." Marco said, trying to sound as nice as possible. Poor Sarah Jameson looked dejected.  
"Sorry." Marco said, hating the sad look in the woman's eyes. God, he might even go out with her to stop it.  
In his opinion, it was the worst and most despicable thing to use puppy dog eyes on someone! God, would she quit looking at him? Sarah took in a deep breath and started walking back inside the cafe when Jenkins pulled up, thank heavens. Marco wasn't sure how it had happened. One moment he'd been rushing to the car, eager as heck to get away from the beautiful woman with the sad, sad eyes, and in the next moment he found himself being pressed up against the limo as Sarah Jameson crushed him with a sudden hot, heavy, lingering kiss.  
It came to him almost like something from a dream. Something that never happened in this lifetime but felt so real it sent shivers down his spine.  
He was remembering a kiss. A kiss that was unplanned, unintended, and unexpected. He was remembering a kiss that has surprised, pleased, and scared him all in the same moment. It was a kiss that had opened a door, a door that he hadn't even known existed. Or, to be more honest, it was a door he hadn't wanted to acknowledge.  
Then his fear left him shell-shocked. He ran. He ran from that kiss, from the feelings it had brought forth without his even wanting them, without his being sure that he could even face them. He ran away without a second thought.

Back to reality. Tilopid had shoved the sucking Sarah Jameson off of Marco seconds after her lips contacted with his. Looking down, Marco also assumed it was seconds after the crazed fan had shoved her phone number into his palm. Sarah Jameson looked up at Marco, from under Tilopid's deathgrip, in a lust-filled expression.  
"Betcha can't stay away from me now." She purred. Marco took a step back and opened the door of the limo.  
Whoever the person was in his dream that was too close to reality, it wasn't Sarah Jameson.   
"I wouldn't bet on it." Marco said as he went inside the limo with Tilopid loosening her grip and following him.  
Today had been a weird day. All he wanted was to go home and sleep.

During the drive, neither Marco nor the Nothlit spoke much. There were a few comments about Sarah Jameson thrown around, and Marco thanked his crazy blue-haired friend for saving his ass. Other than that, the two rode in tired but companionable silence for most of the trip.  
"Thanks, again." Marco said.  
Tilopid shrugged. "It was no problem. Besides, who'd have stopped that witch from raping you or something? You'd gone into shock!"  
Marco laughed to hide the feeling of disquiet in his stomach as he recalled his 'memory'. "What'd you expect me to do?"  
"Morph or something." Tilopid said. "It's not like you can't defend yourself, and I doubt she'd have kissed a gorilla."  
"I don't know. _She_ just might have." Marco said, and this time Tilopid laughed. "Yeah, I'd bet."  
Then the conversation stopped as the limo hit a nice twelve-floor apartment complex. "Well, here's my stop."  
Tilopid opened the right-side back door of the limo herself. "It was nice hanging out with you, we do it again."  
"Oh, and I'd recommend you file a restraining order by tomorrow morning." Tilopid added before she went into her apartment.  
Marco closed the door after her and instructed Jenkins to drive him home. It _had_ been a long, long night. 

----------------

After he bid Jenkins farewell and a good night, Marco dropped to the floor of his living room. It was too exhausting to go to a bed. He lay there on the carpeted floor for about ten minutes. Not too bad, it was less time than the last time he'd done this. Only once or twice had he really been so crashed after a party to drop to the floor and sleep. This time wasn't one of them. Pulling himself up off the cushy carpet, Marco thought out which one of the bedrooms would be the easiest to get to. His was the farthest, for privacy and security reasons, so that was out. The closer right-hand room was miles away from a bathroom, and the near left-hand room was being repaired. That left him with the far left-hand guestroom. It wasn't a bad room, in fact it was a subject of debate that it might've been even better than his own room was. The room, however, gave Marco the creeps and he couldn't explain why. Still, he headed towards it for the sake of resting his poor tired and confused little body. After all, it was just a room, it wasn't like the place could hurt him.  
Marco climbed up the stairs with the precision of one on a tightrope. He moved in a slow steady fashion, being careful not to trip over any single step. Why he was taking such precaution might have had something to do with the fact that if he fell backwards, he would break his head open. In his near-drugged state, the likelihood of such an accident was higher than Marco would like to think about. In time he managed to reach the end of the steps and headed down the hall. The guestroom did not exhibit the same strange kind of pull it had yesterday.  
So Marco stepped in, assured of the room's lack of evil, and made a beeline for the bed. If he hadn't been so tired, Marco may have noticed the junk lying around. Amongst it was a Spiderman tee shirt hanging from the doorknob and a replica of the same toy sword Marco had sat on earlier lay beside the closet. Marco didn't even notice a single thing except a small tabloid lying alone on the nightstand. His curiosity arisen, Marco picked up the tabloid. He flipped through it without finding anything interesting. Bill Gates Divorce Scandal, Ronnie and Cassie...  
A list of _his_ ladies. The tabloid's count added up to twenty-three in all, counting the "speculative relationships". Tilopid's earlier words about his fear of relationships hit him hard.  
God, how could he have not realized this? Sure, he rationalized, he liked to date. He liked women. He wasn't some kind of heartbreaking bachelor too afraid to open up his heart to anyone. Right?

The tabloid slipped out of the once Animal Morpher's hands as another memory hit him, this one much more clear.

__

"Candice dumped me. Girl number..." Marco had said. Ax had replied. Marco blinked in shock.  
"Wow, you've been keeping track?" Marco had asked, gaping at the blue furry deer. Ax shrugged, and threw Marco a magazine. He flipped through the pages and found, smack in the middle, a list of his bevy of ladies.  
Ax was right, it totaled twenty-three in all. How sad. "Geez. This is very pathetic, even for me." Marco stated. 

The tabloid hit the floor as Marco passed out. 

----------------

Jake arrived the next day. The bird had come with him.

Ax had been captured. Maybe even dead, but everyone refused to believe that.

Marco had agreed, of course, to help. What kind of a person who he be to abandon a friend like that?  
Besides, maybe finding Ax would help clear up some of the confusion Marco had been feeling the past few days.

Like the strange feeling that maybe he wasn't going to rescue someone who was just a friend.

---------------- 

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Yes, you in the back? (reviewer responses)

Avada Kedavra - Wow. Two conversions to this couple! =P **does the happy dance** And I'm on someone's favorite list? **does the hyper happy happy dance** Scary hyperness aside, I'm glad you've liked it!

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Early - **jaw drops to the ground** Holy crap, sir, yes you do win the Longest Review Ever Award! I've never had a review that long for any of my fics, nevermind this one! Gah...I need a moment to recover.  
You know, I think you picked up on more themes in this story than even I was aware of. Is that good or bad? Anyway, to dissect your monster of a review bit by bit -- to explain the lack of plot in the first chapter, this was at first going to be a single chapter story and I really just wanted to write out an angsty unrequited M/A thing, but then the story grew. So that's that. Looking back, I should've gotten more in-depth with the "fifty zillion girls" thing, but yes, I do believe that Marco is covering up or trying to repress his feelings about the war with material success. I'm glad someone caught on to that. About the beer, I don't have my own copy of 54 and I'd forgotten all about that line. The image of a drunken Marco had came to my head, so I wrote it in. My bad.  
Yep, Marco showing up at Ax's door was odd, and heck, shouldn't even Marco realize that? Oh yeah, you gotta love that whole "I don't know why I'm doing this, but I'm gonna do it anyway." aspect about fanfics. It's what makes 'em fun. (Not that I'm saying you should run into OOC-land...)  
To tell the truth, the first chapter was my not-so-polished second draft. I hadn't even considered where my characters should be. It just happened that way, and in fact, in a couple of VERY rough versions of the full story, I did have Ax running back to his home. It didn't happen, fortunately. I agree with your thoughts on Ax, too. Speaking for myself, I was surprised he went Andalite Homeworld. Not flabbergasted shocked, but I had the impression that Ax was starting to see some serious problems with his people. Not that our favorite deer-scorpion-thing would have admitted it, but still...and it would've been cool to see another Andalite/insert species here coupling in the books. **growls** Dang KAA.  
I'm glad you liked the kissing scene. Oooh, and lookie, big neon letters! ...Never mind me.  
Um, back to seriousness, I also agree with your thesis on what Marco needs in a relationship, and man, there was a lot of Marco/Cassie stuff in the books. It's almost scary. But I don't see them as a lasting couple, probably because like you said, Cassie is too much of a "goody-goody" for Marco. The two of them would end up driving each other crazy, I think. You know, you've got a good theory on Jake's apperance too, but I confess I threw him in the first chapter for laughs. Why Naked Jake makes me laugh I really don't want to know. Like I said, you sure as heck get an award for longest review! Hang it up in your living room! Maybe that can entice you to review the other chapters, hm? **gives the evil puppy dog eyes**  
Until next time, and I'm hoping to more of Hear No Evil!

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Forlay - I was afraid you were dead or something! Welcome back! Take another free plushie of your choosing! Wow, I didn't know I'd written a tense chapter...oh well. And I'm glad you liked Ax kissing Marco. That was probably my favorite part of that chapter. Yeah, I had Ax say those three scary words. I mean, come on, it's not like Marco ever will. =P Aaahh! I didn't mean to make anyone cry! Here, have some pastries! Christopher Ralph Tompson was really kind of an accident. I didn't figure out it's connections to evilness until after I wrote the chapter. Must be my subconcious reminding me that Ani-TV is the heart of all sin, even if there was a lot of M/A things in it. Er, pretend you didn't hear that last part. And again, welcome back! **hugs**

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Doctor Strangelove - I think this is the first time I've rendered someone speechless. Go me! Now, get to writing more Adventures in Clubbing! You've got no idea how many hours I've spent wondering what's gonna happen next...

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Lauren - Hiii! Um, I don't wanna ruin any of the story, so I can't tell what exactly is gonna happen to Ax and Marco, but I don't think they'll be hurt. My kittens are still doing good, but I can't say the same for my house. It's okay if you babble, I like your babbling! And it's not like I'm a fast writer anyway, so babble on! Bye-bye for now!


	13. Chapter Thirteen When Ax Fights

Author's Note: I'm torn about this chapter. I can't tell if rules or if it sucks. I'm just gonna leave that up to you guys. To my knowledge, the Basara aren't a real species. I made them up to explain Ax's weird mouth The One gave him. Kind of like that Andalite/Human stunt The One pulled back in chapter 11. In fact, there's a lots of made-up species in this chappie. Whoohoo. If you want more info about any of them just email me. (mysteriotrainer@hotmail.com)  
Some parts of this, such as Ax's capture and the introduction of The One, are not like they are in 54. This is because I don't have a copy of the book, and didn't feel like waiting until Monday to beg for it. So I thought 'why not make my own version'? Ah, fanfics. I gave Jeanne and Santorelli their own battle morphs too, lioness and black bear respectively. Whoa, just felt an odd urge to write Jeanne/Santorelli fic...that's not right. I hope you guys like this chapter, and I'm going to write the last one quick as I can. (Which _will_ be good, unlike this one.) If you want more slash, I'll still be writing it. Dun worry. My new series, Threads of Fate, will be an M/A but it's only going to be hinted at in the first part of the series. It's still there, though, so yay, I guess.  
Aw, screw it. Just read the chapter.

****

Be Stupid Chapter Thirteen: When Ax Fights

It had been about a month, in Andalite time, since he had agreed to the Ellimist's deal. The Andalite-Once-Human had found himself on the board of Intrepid, the ship he would have been commanding had it not been for his quick exit to Earth. He'd been blessed with a well-crafted ship and a quick, intelligent crew. It would have been the epitome of everything he'd wanted in his life not a few short months ago. Now, though, it saddened him.  
This was not what he wanted. What he wanted was to be back on Earth with the ones he loved.  
That was no longer possible, Ax admitted with a tinge of bitterness.  
Prince Aximili?  
Ax was startled out of his reverie by his first officer, Menderash-Postill-Fastill.  
What is it? Asked Ax, not bothering to hide his lack of interest.  
An unidentified lifeform in Kelbrid space. Menderash answered, choosing to ignore his commanding officer's taciturn behavior.  
Kelbrid space? Ax asked. That's strange. Ax fought the twisting uncertainty in his heart. It might not be what he suspected. Besides, there wasn't any bravery in living in fear of the future and what might be. It was easier to believe that than the internal knowledge that he had a very good suspicion of what that "unidentified lifeform" was.  
Menderash? Ax said, to make sure his subordinate was paying attention, Tell the crew we are heading into Kelbrid space.  
Menderash regarded his Prince with shock in all four of his eyes. Prince Aximili, we are not allowed to do that!  
Yes, I'm aware of that, Menderash. Ax said. I am the commanding officer of this ship. All the blame with fall upon me, so don't worry about it. No one will reprimand you for following orders. Now, do what I say.  
Doubt and unwillingness filling every action of the younger Andalite, Menderash-Postill-Fastill did as his Prince commanded.  
In the meantime, unbeknownst by his first officer, said Prince tried like a madman to calm his own doubts.  
The Intrepid had outlined a course to Kelbird space. Inching closer each second to what Ax knew, but refused to admit, had to be The One. The day the Ellimist had warned him of was upon him.  
With every fiber of his willpower, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil was going to ignore and deny that fact.  
So far there had been no complications, nothing unexpected had come upon Intrepid and the crew.  
Then, in one blurred moment, the communications center of the ship had shut down. To top that off, the ship was no longer moving. Ax was held stiff by a fear he felt in all of his hearts. Fear of what he knew deep inside of him.  
The One had come.

Ax heard the words meant only for him, words soundless to the rest of his crew.  
_HELLO, PET._  
Then chaos and hell were mixed and unleashed upon Intrepid. The ship was blown apart. Ax heard screams and the sound of a roaring fire. He saw what looked like his crew, dead. Dead because of his arrogance over his fate.

__

PITY YOU DON'T GET TO JOIN THEM.

Then Ax lost all consciousness and fainted on what remained of Intrepid. 

----------------

__

THEY'RE COMING.

Aximili-Esgarrouth-Ishtil tried to block out the voice of the One as it invaded his thoughts. He didn't want to hear it.  
He had never wanted to hear it, but not now in particular. Not after the loss of his crew.  
Not after he had merged into the being.  
It'd been inevitable from the start. Ax soon realized that after he had made his choice. In the past, the One would have overcome him and stolen his body. The same thing had more or less occurred now, but there was one important difference. He was no longer on Earth. No longer human. No longer destined to kill the ones who had become his surrogate family, and thousands of innocents.  
Now he was just another addition to the beings inside of the One.

__

THEY'RE COMING TO SAVE YOU. DID YOU KNOW THAT? The One asked.  
Ax gave his captor no answer. He felt he had no reason to talk.  
_ARE YOU NOT SURPRISED? I CAN SEE THAT YOU ARE._ The One told the Andalite he held prisoner.  
I am not surprised. Ax lied, just to spite The One. The truth was that he was, indeed, surprised. He had a dim recollection of the Ellimist telling him that there would be a chance at freedom, but he was surprised.  
He hadn't expected it to be the other Animorphs.  
He hadn't wanted it to be the other Animorphs.  
_WHY COULD THAT BE?_ The One teased, having sensed Ax's thoughts, as he could all the beings that were a part of him. The One had made certain, however, that none of those beings could sense the others. That had been a decision made by The One to protect itself. Couldn't have all his slaves starting a revolt, now could he?  
_ARE YOU AFRAID?_ The One asked. The Andalite did not answer, being stubborn again.  
This did not bother the One. It knew which buttons to push.  
Ax heard The One question him again. An inquiry meant to hurt him, meant to make him regret the decision he'd made.  
They were the kind of inquires he was familiar with by now. Not a day went by that he'd didn't wonder if he had made the right choice. The choice to abandon everything he had in order to protect millions. To protect his friends.  
To protect the one he loved.  
He still regretted it. Even now.

__

YOU ARE AFRAID. The One had said. YOU'RE AFRAID THAT I WILL KILL THEM. GUESS WHAT?  
I WILL. I'LL EVEN USE YOUR BODY TO DO IT, IF IT SUITS ME. The One told the Andalite-once-human.  
_YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW ANGRY I WAS WHEN YOU CHANGED FORM. A WEAK, HUMAN BODY HAS SUCH LIMITED CAPACITIES. THE BODY OF AN ANDALITE SUITS MY NEEDS MUCH BETTER._  
I'm so glad you got what you wanted. Ax commented not without a tinge of bitterness.  
_NOW, NOW, THERE'S NO NEED TO BE SARCASTIC. YOU'RE NOT ANY GOOD AT IT._ The One scorned.  
_BESIDES, YOU LOOK LIKE A FOOL. OF COURSE, YOU WERE ONE TO BEGIN WITH._ The One added.  
_YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR HOW YOUR LUCK HAS CHANGED. DID YOU BELIEVE YOU COULD HAVE BEEN ONE OF THEM? THAT THEY WOULD HAVE ACCEPTED YOU?_ The One asked Ax.  
The Andalite tried not to think about what The One was questioning. They were questions he didn't want to answer.  
It was true he had decided to become human. The Andalites could never have accepted him back into the fold, not after what Christopher Tompson had made public knowledge. Ax had learned that the moment his father had shunned him and his mother, though she still loved her son, had advised him to leave. Ax knew the truth of that all too well. But were the humans any different? There was more than once that he'd felt the difference between his peoples was a murky one. He'd been aware of the intense backlash against his kind that existed on Earth, and the prejudice and fear that Tompson's broadcast had ignited. Humans, too, were not the most tolerant creatures.  
Could it have lasted? Could his relationship with Marco have lasted through all of that? Ax had his doubts.  
Doubts born of seeing his then-friend jump from relationship to relationship, woman to woman, within the course of days to months. Despite the years of friendship and now what Ax suspected was love between them, was that a guarantee that it all would not fall apart and develop what would be remembered as a short fling?  
No. There was no guarantee. There never had been.  
_GLAD TO SEE YOU'RE WAKING UP TO THE TRUTH._ The One commented in a smug tone.  
Oh, I am? Ax asked, angered at The One's observation.  
_IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU REALIZED YOUR SHENIGAINS WERE DOOMED._ The One said to Ax.  
There are no guarantees. Ax said, plain and simple, to The One. His captor took a moment to respond.  
_I SUPPOSE WE'LL SEE. AFTER ALL, THEY ARE COMING._

Little did Ax or any of The One's other captives know just how close _The Rachel_ was to approaching them.  
The One had an acute awareness of this, however, and it was going to fight to the death to prove the Ellimist wrong.  
The One knew the destiny the Ellimist had set forth. It was to fight this destiny that The One had set out to capture the Andalite, and for that reason it had been willing to kill him, until that idiot of a human had stopped him.  
What fools love made. Not that it mattered, The One would triumph over both love and the meddler of the galaxy.  
The One had no other choice. 

----------------

It happened close to a month later.

Of course, Ax hadn't paid much attention to the passing of the days. His days were so similar it hurt deep inside.  
Then again, that was slavery for you. It was a lonesome experience being a part of The One. Ax knew that he wasn't the only one inside of the symbiote, but he could not sense any of the others. It was as if they didn't exist.  
The One could sense his thoughts and feelings, but Ax had no way of knowing what The One felt, assuming that The One even felt, of course. It was much like, from what Ax had seen and heard, like being a Controller.  
All of him laid out like a book to read. His fears, doubts, and little hopes that seemed to be dying each day.  
Ax had beaten himself up over this ever since the day The One had taken him full prisoner. He knew it was an act of cowardice to feel this way, to be giving up his hope. It would be better to die than do such a thing.  
Except he couldn't even take his own life now. That decision would be up to The One.  
How could he have let this happen? How could he have let his fate be dictated by a demented parasitic symbiote and the infamous meddler of the galaxy? How could he have had such little faith in himself to handle this?  
_It was the right thing to do._ Ax tried to comfort himself. _It was either this or thousands dead._  
Unbidden, Ax recalled when he'd been forced to make another decision like this one. It was a memory he'd been better off not remembering.  
Ax felt the cords of despair wrap around him. It was not fair that he should have to make such choices. Even more unjust in what was to supposed be a time of peace, after the war had ended. When his life seemed to be fitting together. Then it had all been snatched away from him, in the blink of an eye. Yes, Ax admitted he had a choice in the matter, but what kind of a choice was your own happiness vs. the lives of millions and the ones you love?  
Why did he have to make this kind of a sacrifice? What kind of horrible deed had he done in another life?  
What was eating up the former human with an intense voracity was the fact that he now had no idea how the ones he cared about were doing. The Ellimist had told them there would be a catch, there would be consequences.  
Ax had not been prepared for how much those consequences would hurt. It pained him to not be on Earth. It pained him to not be in his little ramshackle apartment, to not drop by and say hello to his old, kind landlady.  
It pained him to not be able to see Prince Jake and Cassie, it even hurt to not Tilopid, strange thought she was.  
It hurt him that after three years of separation he was once again torn away from his _shorm_, though this time by his own choosing. It hurt to know that he had lost the chance to rebuild their broken and frayed bond.

It hurt to not see Marco.

Before they had been parted, he'd told Marco that he loved him. Now Ax had become far too aware of that fact.  
When his feelings had developed from a strong attraction into love, the Andalite was not certain. They had changed, though, to something much deeper than the simple crush he'd had not too long ago. It would be an all-out lie if the Andalite did not admit that this scared him. He'd been ready, though, to deal with that fear.  
If only he'd been aware that in the end they would be separated. He would have said it sooner, made it known.  
_You didn't know._ The little voice in the back of the Andalite's head told him. _You should be proud you said it all._  
Perhaps, Ax thought. That did not change the pain he felt inside, though. It did not change the pain he could no longer see a way out of. Aximili-Esgarrouth-Ishtil could no longer see the light at the end of the tunnel.

He had no inkling of the events that would unfold soon, no idea of the events that waited ahead for him to seize. 

----------------

They had come, just as The One had said they would.

The One had begun cooking up its deception, trying to capture the Animorphs so that it would have new minions.  
The One would make certain that they could not interfere with its plans. It could not be allowed, that was it. Because if anything went wrong, it could mean the end. The One knew that far too well.  
The One had first used the form of a Human-Controller to arose their suspicions, to get them closer. It had shown them the Eevan hidden deep within, and then as a great crescendo, a devastating denouement, The One had shown those assembled inside The Rachel their friend. It shown them the Andalite, but had mixed it with a foul-scaled red creature called a Basara. They had horrid mouths. Mouths known to strike terror into the hearts of the brave. It had done the job. The One relished the shock and terror reflected in their eyes. It was wonderful.  
Then, from inside of The Rachel, The One heard the words that set destiny in motion.  
"Ram the Blade Ship."  
The ship shook with a terrifying tremor. The One, still a mix of Andalite and Basara, hit the ground.  
There was a rip in its side caused by one of the sharp edges surrounding the communications center.  
It was a bad wound. Bad, but not fatal.

Ax felt a strange sensation, as if all of his senses had been heightened somehow. He could see through a gaping hole in the ship to the inside of The Rachel. Somehow, during the crash, the ships had been meshed together without a consideration for organization. Through melted metal and jagged, sharp cuts, the ships were now one.  
He saw the others. Prince Jake, his grip just now loosening off a bar on the side of the ship. Tobias let his talons loosen from the same bar. Ax saw a tall woman with long black hair on her knees, surveying the ships with the same kind of amazement he felt. He saw a gruff man in his late thirties to early forties pulling himself up from a podium of sorts. He saw Menderash, in his human morph, getting up amongst the wreckage.  
Then Ax spotted the one he'd been searching for. He felt a great relief wash over him as he saw that Marco was not dead or injured in any way. If that had been the case, then Ax would have killed The One by any means.  
It was at that second, that instant that Ax felt overwhelmed. Somewhere in the wide and wondrous world, someone had pulled a string. Someone had allowed an accident of random chance. Something had changed.

__

Hello. The One's Andalite/Basara eyes widened in shock as it realized what had occurred.  
_Hello._ Came another voice, different from the one before. Another voice joined the two. _Hello._  
Soon the three voices had evolved into a chorus, a mixture of voices all speaking different languages, yet understood without any doubt by one another. A chorus of millions sharing a simple Hello.  
They had been set free. The Basara, the Eevan, an elven-like species, the Kigora, a metallic race. All of them granted freedom in one mind-blowing moment. Even Controller and Andalite were set free from The One.  
The One began losing its reasoning. It flew into an outright panic, now unable to control the millions of beings stored within over the centuries. The whip had flown out of the hands of the master who'd forgotten to chain his slaves. A master who had been far too ignorant for far too long of what lie inside his dungeons.  
It had to gain some control! The One thought in desperation. Perhaps acquiring more beings for its collection would calm down the blubbering chatter inside. There had to be some way to do it, and that seemed the only solution.  
The One, using the control of its body to its advantage, moved towards those inside of The Rachel.  
They were all intelligent and strong. Most of them humans, yes, but The One sensed the hidden potential inside of them.  
Besides, if it meant a return to its power, The One would steal the weakest being of the galaxies. It no longer mattered.  
As fortune would dictate, however, these were not weaklings. Good.  
They would make more than suitable slaves.  
Those inside of The Rachel had begun morphing. A tiger, a hawk, a gorilla, a lioness, and a black bear and a human nothlit stood inside the half-destroyed Bug Fighter ready to duel to the death.  
The One was prepared to face them and absorb them. No matter what their strength was.  
The One, however, did not expect the strong tug of resistance it felt in the next second.

**NO!** Ax was in shock for a fleeting moment as he realized that _he_ had said those words.  
Then he remembered the exact reason he'd said them. I will not allow you to take them!  
The One had almost forgotten. The Andalite had a special attachment to these people, hadn't he? He'd even been in love with one of them. The one who had prevented The One's earlier attempt at assassinating the Andalite.  
With a renewed vigor to capture and use these humans, The One continued on towards the Rachel.  
The One also set to killing the Andalite. It could be done this time, no interference, nice and quick inside within his own body.  
Ax noted with intense surprise that some sort of shield had come up around him.  
The others deep inside of The One, spurred on by Ax's scream of protest, had decided to act on their own and protect the Andalite in their midst. The shield was developed in the blink of an eye by some of the telekinetic beings inside The One - The Tly, The Eevan, The Retrec, and many others. Ax also came to realize something.  
He could see inside them all. He could see their thoughts, their feelings, their memories both active and repressed.  
They could all see the same of him, as well.  
Every single being inside of The One knew of Ax's reasons for protesting The One's control of the Animorphs.  
Ax, too, could see their myriad of reasons for wanting to fight for their own freedom from the symbiote.  
Many of them shared Ax's own motives -- to protect the ones they loved. Some did not. However, the Andalite had the support of all of those still inside of The One. Even those that opposed his sexuality, like the Kigora. Even those that detested Andalites, like the Human-Controller. If he had been human Ax would have been crying tears of joy.  
At the moment, though, he vowed to stop The One from moving another inch.

As The One began stepping to the interior of The Rachel, Ax and the others trapped inside moved it backwards.  
_WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?_ The One screamed. _STOP!_  
The Animorphs all stared in shock at what was unfolding before them. It looked as if The One was fighting with itself, trying to gain control but losing it faster than a falling plate. Each step, each movement it made was retracted. The One was undergoing a continuos cycle of move, stop, move, stop, move, stop.  
_WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?_ The One asked. _HOW?_  
Ax decided to answer for all inside. They won't permit you to move another inch. He told The One.  
_YOU DID ALL THIS._ The One said to Ax, its voice smoldering in anger.  
No. I just rallied the forces. Ax said. The One was determined to not believe him.  
_OUT OF THEM ALL, YOU HAD THE MOST AT STAKE. YOU DID DO ALL OF THIS._  
_I WON'T LET YOU!_ The One protested. _I HAVE THE POWER! YOU ARE ALL MINE! YOU CANNOT DO THIS, I HAVE POWER OVER ALL OF YOU!_

Then came the response from deep within, from each and every being within The One.

__

You have no power over us.

The One's eyes widened, still a mix of Andalite and Basara. Then those orbs began to close, fluttering like butterflies, attempting to stop what was happening. It could not be stopped, however.  
No one, nothing, can stop death.  
Losing the struggle, giving up the fight for the last time, The One shut its eyes and somewhere, sometime, a timeline ended. The One had died.

Moments later, it began to separate. Every single being once inside had been granted freedom. They were all restored to their own individual forms, all granted independence once more.

Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil stared at his many-fingered hands, amazed at what had occurred. He was himself again.

He was free.

---------------- 

****

Just so you know, I'm nuts. (Reviewer Response)

Early - Woohoo, another review! (Whoa, that sort of rhymed.) Glad you like Chapter 2, buddy. Yes, you nailed Ax's two major conflicts right off the bat. I think you're the first person who guessed I was going to address that "Ax being a human" issue. Yay, you get a Good Guesser Award. Hmm, I guess I did forget to mention Chapter 2 was just an Ax recap. **runs off to go change that** You're a Tard? Why, sir, don't diss yourself so! =P

Yeah, Ax no like Candice. She steal his Marco. My god, I sound like a two year-old...anyway, yeah, isn't food a great way to distract yourself? I'm sure Ax would agree. Let's see...you think the Homeworld was bad now? You're not gonna like some of the later chapters. Eeek. 

As for why the Ax chapters are better, it's probably because I relate to that character more. I can't really give any objective opinion on if my Marco chapters get any better, because I think my writing sucks most of the time. But I'd say the chapters (for both characters) vary in quality. Yes, see if the chapters get better for yourself! Read more fic! Geez, I'm such a review whore. I shame myself. That all done with, glad you liked the chapter and your fics rock!

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Avada Kedavra - Woohoo! M/A subtext! I think we should have a party honoring that stuff. I'm glad the last chapter wasn't confusing! Uh, what other fics are there? There's "Adventures in Clubbing" by Doctor Strangelove, which kicks @$$. Forlay's "Strange Bedfellows" and "Happy Reunion" are both M/A fics, there's "The Third Couple" by Phenomene, and "With You" by Sarsia, then "Untouchable" by Mus4u. That's all I can recall. I haven't seen any that aren't on FFn, either, so yay. There you go...no, wait, my really bad gender-bending fic is at UCA. _Don't_ read that one. Please.

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Doctor Strangelove - Who's Az? =P Some combo of Ax and Oz? Oooh, that wouldn't be a bad idea...but never mind, if I continue on that line of thought, I'll start drooling over Oz. Nobody wants that. On the bright side, this chapter is all Ax! On the downside, it sucks, but oh well. Hey, I did update quicker. Wow. Maybe you should write more Adventures in Clubbing to help me write my fic! Or just plain write more Adventures in Clubbing. That wouldn't be a bad idea. **does the Puppy Dog Eyes of Doom** Please?

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Lauren - Well, now you won't have to miss Ax anymore! He's baaack! Tilopid _is_ totally bonkers, nuts and a weirdo chic. I'm glad everybody liked her so much! You think my theory on Marco dating a zillion chicks is a good one? Wow, maybe I am smart after all. Okay. Now that I wrote, you gotta review. =P I love kittens too, but I had to give mine away. **sniff** They're in good homes now, though, so it's okay. Ta ta for now!


	14. Chapter Fourteen When Things Change: Par...

Author's Note: Here we go, the end. I won't lie, I was kind of putting off this chapter because I didn't want to end this fic, but it's kind of out of my hands, if that makes any sense. This is the end. I hope you guys like the ending and no worries -- I'll still be writing M/A like the slavish fangirl I am. It's sort of like a nervous tic. =P  
I fixed the weird little stars in the last chapter and replaced them with proper thoughtspeak, too, just so you know.  
This is really one HUGE chapter, but because the amazing length and all, I felt it'd be better to split it in two. The second part should be done tomorrow, God willing.  
Last notes here...um, there's crying ahead. Call it OOC if you will, but I couldn't stand to write the characters swallowing all of their tears down. No worries, though, it isn't a sobfest. Just some tearage. Woohoo. Parts of this chapter are just recaps of the last chapter. Sorry. Oh, and my urge to write Jeanne/Santorelli has evolved to a Jeanne/Santorelli/Menderash triangle. Someone shoot me before I write it. Please.  
Oh yeah. Danger, Will Robinson! Corniness ahead!

****

Be Stupid Chapter Fourteen: When Things Change  
Part One

****

Marco - Memories 

---------------- 

He was starting to wonder why he'd ever agreed to this whole mess. For a second time, on top of that.  
The first time he'd signed up on a suicidal save-the-world quest, it wasn't like he had much of a choice.  
Sure, he had complained like a newborn baby the whole time but it was either chose to save the world or not.  
It was a simple choice, but Marco couldn't believe that he was being dragged into another mission.  
True, it was more of a Save-Ax mission than a Save-the-World mission, but Marco still complained about it.  
It kept him from thinking about the fact that he didn't object to a Save-Ax mission half as much as a Save-the-World mission. That little factoid bothered the short man, but it wasn't like he'd ever talk about that.  
"I mean no disrespect, but if you're going to volunteer to commandeer the ship, would you pay attention?"  
Marco looked up in surprise at Menderash. The Human Nothlit was looking at him in an expression of just-contained exasperation. Marco almost winced under Menderash's glare. It wasn't any fun having an Andalite mad at him.  
It was strange, Marco reflected, how Menderash reminded him of Ax. Of course that made sense, he thought. Duh, they were both Andalites, after all. It was natural that in some way that Menderash reminded him of Ax.  
That had to be it. The two of them, Marco thought, weren't _that_ alike in personality, typical Andalite arrogance notwithstanding. Marco frowned as he mulled it over in his head. He'd been thinking a lot about Ax.  
And, Marco to admit, he didn't like the way his mind kept slipping to friend from beyond.  
"Would you _please_ pay attention to the ship?" Menderash screamed.

Before any blood could be shed Marco wrenched his mind away from his musings and focused only on the Rachel. He could wonder about the similarities between Ax and Menderash later, there was a ship to fly.  
Come to think of it, though, Marco had come upon another difference between them.

Ax would have given him three seconds to live, not just one. 

---------------- 

"I hear you almost got your head chopped off this morning." Jake said. Marco shrugged, plopping down next to his best friend as he stared at the mix of dried fruit ahead of him. It'd been ages ago that the crew of The Rachel had eaten all of their fresh foods. Marco glanced around him. Menderash and Tobias were eating together, Tobias attempting to befriend the lone alien in their midst. Tobias was perched near him and Marco guessed they had to be talking. To the other side of the ships' dining quarters were Santorelli and Jeanne.  
Marco blinked in surprise at his own feelings. He felt jealous. Swallowing down the surge of the green-eyed monster, the height challenged ex-Animorph looked at Jake. "So, what you been up to?" He asked.  
"You mean since the last three hours we saw each other?" Jake asked. Marco nodded. "Yup."  
Jake frowned as he tried to think. "Discussed navigation with Menderash, phoned Cassie, did nothing."  
Marco raised an eyebrow. "Phoned Cassie?"  
If he hadn't known him so well, Marco wouldn't have picked up on Jake's defensive body language. "Yeah."  
"Well now, why'd you do that?" Marco asked, planning on interrogating his best friend for all he was worth.  
Jake crossed his arms. "It's not like what you're thinking." He said. "I wanted to wish her Congrats."  
"Why?" Marco asked, then he stuffed his mouth with bits of dry fruit. Jake sighed and looked up at the ceiling.  
"She and Ronnie are getting married next week, you know." Jake said with an obvious amount of wistfulness.  
Marco swallowed his fruit and looked long and hard at Jake. "No, I didn't know." He said.  
In a blink of an eye, the sad look in Jake's face was erased with a wide smile. "Well, they are." He said.  
_And are you okay with that?_ Marco wanted to ask but the words wouldn't slip off his tongue.  
"Good for Cassie. I hope they're happy." Marco said, lending his friend a weak smile of understanding.  
Jake didn't seem to notice. "They will be." He said with a faraway look in his eyes. "What about you?"  
"Jake, I'm not a marrying man." Marco said, his face saying without a doubt Jake Berenson was an idiot.  
"Yeah, I guessed." Jake said. "I meant, how's your day been?"  
"Oh! It's been fine." Marco shrugged. "Aside from near-decapitation, nothing much happened."  
_Well, that, and the fact that I kept thinking about Ax every five minutes._ Marco added to himself.  
Yes, it was bothering him. If he was in a relationship with him or something like that, it'd make sense. It wasn't normal the way he'd kept thinking about him. They were friends, sure. Heck, you could have said they were buddies.  
The two of them had never been close, though. Not close enough to warrant the amount of time Marco had spent thinking about his alien bud, anyway. That amount of time was more like the amount spent on more productive things.  
Like girls. Marco looked over and saw Jeanne and Santorelli still having a vivid little talk.  
He wasn't sure if he was jealous because Jeanne wasn't eating with him, or because it made him feel alone.  
Tilopid's words from before the night he'd been dragged onto the Rachel still hung with the short man.  
He hated to admit it, but the lesbian reporter was right. He was afraid of being in a deep relationship. Facts be told, Marco had no idea how close the bond between the French woman and the older man was, but it was much closer than any romantic bonds _he_ had as of late. The funny thing was that Marco had thought it'd be best to stop the mass dating for a while, but now he felt more alone than he liked to think about.  
Having a relationship could have distracted him from that, not to mention his near-obsession with Ax.  
"There I go again." Marco muttered to himself. Now that he thought about it, dunking his head in his bowl of fruit was sounding like a good idea. Maybe that could stop the weird turn his brain had kept taking again and again.  
"What are you talking about?" Jake asked, looking confused. Marco laughed and shook his head.  
"It's nothing." The charismatic man said. "I just need more sleep or a lot of coffee." He half-lied to Jake.  
Marco noticed the doubt in Jake's eyes, but his Fearless Leader did nothing. "Go to the Expresso Machine."  
"Best idea I've heard all day!" Marco exclaimed as he patted Jake on the back and went in search of hot java.  
After a few failed attempts, Marco did manage to find the coffee machine. He drowned his doubts in coffee.  
With each short gulp, he blocked out his loneliness. He blocked out the questions, the worries.  
He drank away the feeling that there was something important he wasn't, or couldn't, tell himself yet.  
You're kidding me. Everyone in the ship turned to look at the red-tailed hawk glaring at the Nothlit.  
"He's kidding you how?" Jake asked.  
Menderash here says we'll be hitting Kelbrid space in about two days. In two days, we'll free Ax. Tobias said.  
Marco somehow kept his hold on his empty Dixie cup. "You're serious?" He asked.  
"Yes." Menderash said, addressing both Marco and the crew at the same time. "I checked this morning."  
"Wow." Marco whispered, though just he and Jake heard this. Then he broke out into a smile.  
"So you're saying our mission is almost complete, Andalite?" Santorelli asked Menderash. The Nothlit nodded.  
"Of course that's what it means." Jeanne commented. "Freeing this Aximili was our mission from day one."  
"Yes, it was." Menderash said, his voice quiet. Marco blinked, surprised by his reaction. To be honest, he'd never given a second's thought to how Menderash must have felt about the mission. Ax had been his prince.  
And if past experience had taught Marco anything, it was that the loss of one's prince was a big deal to most Andalites. It was not something they could just shrug away. In particular, if there was any way it could be stopped.  
"And we'll complete that mission in two days." Jake said, his voice full of chipper cheer. "Right, Menderash?"  
"Yes, Prince Jake." Menderash said. That time Marco did drop his Dixie Cup. All three ex-Animorphs stared.  
"Menderash," Jake said in a gentle tone. "Don't call me Prince."  
"Yes, Jake." Menderash said.  
Marco was glad Jake had been the one to say something. He hadn't trusted himself to not hurt Menderash.  
He hadn't trusted himself because those three words had brought up feelings that, if he were to be honest, Marco would admit he didn't dare give a second thought to. Those emotions scared him from somewhere deep inside.

If it weren't for that fear, that might have been the moment Marco might have admitted there could be something more to his now constant thoughts about Ax, something more than the fact that he was going to rescue an old friend.

But he didn't admit that. 

---------------- 

The atmosphere of the Rachel was full of tension during the next two days. Tension brought on by stress, guilt, and various other factors. Marco could see that Jake was tense about the upcoming days. It had been two years since he'd gone into battle, after all. Tobias's tension was related to something quite different. Until he'd received the news that Ax was the prisoner of The One, he'd been a recluse. Tobias had hidden and kept himself far from the ones who knew about his pain over Rachel, stayed away from those that could help him heal. The bird couldn't be looking forward to the reunion ahead. Menderash always seemed a little tense to Marco but now his stress was amplified tenfold due to what Marco suspected was Menderash's own guilt over the whole situation.  
Jeanne and Santorelli were the most relaxed of the crew, though there was no doubt they were nervous about their first battle. Not to mention that the tension of the rest of the crew was starting to irritate them as well.  
As for himself? Marco had to admit that, yes, he was nervous. Nervous about fighting again, nervous about the rookies going into fight, and in his own way he was nervous about meeting Ax again. He hadn't heard from the Andalite since he'd been placed in charge of Intrepid and that was well over a year ago.  
It wasn't a big deal, though. He and Ax were never very close to each other and Marco assumed that the Andalite must have had his own reasons for the lack of contact they'd shared as of late. Besides, Marco thought to himself, he had been busy with Candice and getting over Candice. It was for the best Ax had stayed out of touch, in particular now that Marco had developed what he called an annoying habit of thinking about the Andalite.  
He watched as Jake paced around the room and Tobias preened his feathers for the fiftieth time. Menderash was bent over the ship's controls, oblivious to the outside world. Jeanne was morphing and demorphing into various animals, attempting to gain good control of her morphs for the coming days. Santorelli had a book in his head but Marco could tell by the movements of his eyes that the older man wasn't reading a word of it.  
"Big day tomorrow, huh?" Jake asked. Marco looked up in surprise and his best friend. "Huh?" He asked.  
"Tommorow. Saving Ax, remember?" Jake asked. He looked a bit annoyed with Marco.  
"Oh, right." Marco said with a shake of his head. "Sorry, big guy, my mind hasn't been here."  
Jake shrugged. "Neither has mine." He admitted. The two friends laughed in nervous companionship.  
"What's been bugging you?" Marco asked after a moment. Jake shifted away from his friend, but still answered.  
"All of this." He said. "I'm worried about," Jake shut his eyes. "I'm worried about screwing up again." He whispered.  
Screwing up. He meant Rachel's death, Marco knew. "I told you I won't let you kill me, or any of us." Marco told him.  
"I know." Jake sighed. "I trust you won't, but I can't help it." Then Jake turned his face away from his best friend.  
"I'm also worried about Cassie." The ex-leader of the Animorphs said, his voice wavering with emotion.  
Marco wasn't that surprised. He knew Jake pretty damn well and he had his suspicions that Jake wasn't all fine and dandy with Cassie and Ronnie's engagement, though he'd never shown any objection to it.  
"Jake." Marco started, but his friend finished before he got a word in.  
"I'm still in love with her." Jake whispered, his voice unable to manage one note higher without a sob.  
Marco was at a loss because he had no idea what to do or say. He avoided being touchy-feely any time he could, but Marco knew that Jake needed some sort of comfort now. Uncertain, Marco placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. It was enough. Jake took a deep sigh and put a hand to his face to wipe away some of the tears that had started flowing. All in all, it was a quiet event. No one else on the ship even noticed absorbed in their own things as they were. By the time Marco had retrieved a box of Kleenex, Jake had stopped.  
Taking a sheet from the box, Jake started talking again. "So, what's been bugging you?" He asked.  
Marco blinked. "Didn't I just ask you that a minute ago?" Jake nodded. "So? What's with you?"  
Marco shrugged. "Nothing much. Just worried about the mission, that's all." Jake gave him a Look.  
Marco scowled at his best friend. "Okay, okay." He exhaled a sharp breath.  
"What would you call it if you can't stop thinking about someone you have no reason to think about?" Marco asked.  
"Your subtle way of telling me you have a new girlfriend?" Jake asked. Marco shook his head.  
"No," He said. "I'm giving up the girl-a-week thing for a while." He explained to a surprised Jake.  
Jake then frowned. "You sure?" He asked. "I mean, what you're describing sounds like a crush to me."  
Marco felt his jaw go slack as he sat gaping at Jake. _A crush?_ He thought. _No goddamn way._  
"Trust me, it's _not_ a crush or anything like that." Marco said, his voice full of steel. The sad thing was he wasn't sure whom he was trying to convince, Jake or himself. The bemused look on Jake's face wasn't helping, either.  
"Then I guess you won't mind telling me who this person you don't have a crush on is." Jake said.  
Marco had to fight an urge, despite the years friendship between them, to strangle Jake until he was blue.  
"I have a sudden desire for something horrible to happen to you." Marco hissed. Jake smirked at him in reply.

"Unidentified ship approaching!" Menderash yelled. Both ex-Animorphs and the rest of the crew, excepting Tobias of course, jumped. They all raced to the ship controls to see what Menderash was yelling about.  
"It's coming in at an unnatural speed." Menderash said, his voice tight. Then he jerked back in surprise.  
"What is it?" Jake asked, concerned about his pilot. Menderash had grown pale. "Part of this ship is..." He said.  
Menderash faced the rest of the crew with a grave face. "Part of this ship is Intrepid." He said.  
That's Ax-man's ship. Tobias said, stating the obvious but not caring about it. We found him.  
"No." Marco said, surprised at the anger in his own voice. "We found The One. Ax is just inside of it."  
Both Tobias and Jake looked at him, Jake's eyes reflecting a glint of worry and Tobias glaring his usual glare.  
"He is right." Jeanne said, backing up Marco. "You must not confuse the enemy with your friend."  
Jake nodded in silent agreement. "Okay." He said. "Menderash, Santorelli, and Jeanne, I want you up front when we make contact. Next to Marco, Santorelli's got the best bullshit detector of anyone here, and we can't risk that they might recognize the rest of us and attack before we're ready." Jake told the crew.  
So Menderash continued his course to the ship, with Jeanne and Santorelli alongside him ready to fight.  
Jake, Tobias, and Marco stayed behind. They were able to see what was going on but were out of sight.  
It seemed like a lifetime had gone by until the moment Menderash had opened up communication lines and for the first time, The Rachel received contact from The One. The One first took up the shape of a Human-Controller.  
This was the form in which The One had introduced itself to its enemies. Then the fun began.  
The One transformed itself, showing a beautiful elvin visage. That illusion, however, faded away to be replaced by one much more frightening. The crew of The Rachel watched, stunned, as The One faced them anew.  
The One was grinning at them, full of malice, with the face of Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil.  
It was not the face they knew.  
Plastered onto Ax's face as if a kid had gotten careless with a glue stick, was a horrid, sickening red mouth.

Marco felt his knees threaten to unbuckle, but by some miracle he stayed upright. In his shock, Marco was amazed he had even heard Jake's words at all. The rest of the world, save the sick version of Ax he was now seeing, seemed to have disappeared off somewhere. Thank the Powers That Be he'd heard Jake's command.

"Ram the Blade Ship." 

---------------- 

Marco had enough sense to grab a hold onto one of the sidebars lining the ship. The next second was the impact.  
The ex-Animal Morpher gripped the bar, just to keep from falling, so tight his fingers almost dug into the metal.  
He wrenched his head up to see what happened. What lay before him was a total shock wrapped in surprise.  
Somehow, the two ships had merged. There was no logical pattern involved but the ships were bound together in a mismatched array of sharp jagged cuts and metal melted during the collision of the two ships.  
Jake and Tobias let loose their grips on a side bar not unlike the one Marco had been holding onto. Jeanne looked up from the floor, uninjured. Menderash climbed out of the wreckage that was once the ship's control center, Santorelli pulled himself off the podium that was in the center of the ship to help the Nothlit to his feet.  
Marco saw inside the Blade Ship. He saw The One, a strange mix of Andalite and some other red creature, heading towards The Rachel, a half-insane panicked look in its eyes. He began to morph.  
Gorilla. A morph with which Marco was so familiar it was almost frightening. It was with this morph that he'd face The One. It was this form he chose, this raw power. It was enough to quell his fear at what he'd seen of his friend, the power was enough to distract him from the doubts growing about his own affections. Yes, he would fight like this.  
With what remained of his eyesight Marco saw the others morphing. Beautiful Jeanne, becoming a fierce lioness. Santorelli changing into a black bear. Tobias, staying a hawk. Jake, becoming an all-too-familiar tiger, and Menderash, unable to morph but ready to die in his human body if need be.  
With a pang of sorrow Marco once again remembered his Andalite friend now a prisoner of the being moving its slow way inside of The Rachel. Marco felt a boiling anger rise up inside of him, a rise of intense burning rage.  
The rage was brought on by the injustice of the whole situation. Ax had done nothing to deserve his capture, and the rest of them had done nothing to deserve being pulled away from their last shots at a normal life.  
It wasn't right! It wasn't fair! Marco stared ahead at the disgusting mix known as The One, prepared to make it pay for what it had caused even if he died trying. But the gorilla could not hide Marco from everything, least of all himself. What was it that angered him -- the injustice of The One's actions, or that he once again had been placed to save the world whatever the cost to himself might be? Marco tried not to mull on it.  
The One stepped forward, but with an extraordinary force was pulled back. NO! I will not allow you to take them!  
Marco looked up in complete shock. He knew that voice! It was Ax's voice! What in the world was going on?  
The Rachel's crew watched, through their myriad of eyes, as The One attempted to move forward but was stopped from what had to be within.  
_WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? STOP!_ The One roared.  
Marco watched in shock as each step The One took was taken back, each move it made retracted.  
_WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?_ The One asked. _HOW?_  
Once again, Marco heard Ax's voice, this time talking to The One. They won't permit you to move another inch.  
_YOU DID ALL THIS._ The One accused, it's voice blaring with anger.  
No. Ax replied, his voice full of inappropriate calm. I just rallied the forces.  
The One then flew to accusations. The One's screams of anger echoed through the ships. _OUT OF THEM ALL, YOU HAD THE MOST AT STAKE. YOU DID DO ALL OF THIS!_ The One screamed at Ax, his temper like a hot burning flame.  
_I WON'T LET YOU!_ The One raged. _I HAVE THE POWER! YOU ARE ALL MINE! YOU CANNOT DO THIS, I HAVE POWER OVER ALL OF YOU!_  
Marco heard it then, a beautiful mix of voices, and one of which he knew, speaking to their captor.

__

You have no power over us.

The ex-Animorph watched as The One's eyes, still a mix of Andalite and whatever-the-hell that red creature was, widened and then began to fight to stay open. Marco knew, as he watched, that those eyes were fighting death.  
And those eyes lost.

Marco groaned and grabbed his head as he saw, out of the corners of his eyes, The One disintegrating.  
It was nothing, though, compared to the overflow of memories returning to him. One of them was a memory he'd almost recalled when a stalker-chick, Sarah Jameson, had kissed him. It was a memory of another kiss, but he couldn't recall whose lips it had been. Now he knew. Now he remembered theme parks, hospitals, and the sharp sting of society's contempt. Marco remembered doubts and fears about himself and what he was getting into. Worries about the one he was getting involved with. A memory, clear as day, of knocking Ax to the ground in an attempt to save. A memory of The One and The Ellimist. Memories all forgotten but now known again.

Marco saw the beings inside of The One returning to normal. He saw Ax. The man he loved.

This time his knees did give way as hit the ground, unconscious, unable to take it all in. 

---------------- 

__

Where am I?  
That was Marco's first thought as he looked around him. The place was unfamiliar, nothing like anything he'd ever seen. Stars shining against a clear blue sky surrounded him. It was beyond insane.  
**YOU'RE NOT ANYWHERE, TO TELL THE TRUTH.** Marco turned in the direction of the voice.  
"Oh." He said, not without an obscene amount of sarcasm. "It's you."  
**DID YOU EXPECT ANYONE ELSE?** The Ellimist asked, without a doubt amused.  
"I shouldn't have." Marco snorted, rolling his eyes at the old man, or what looked like an old man, in front of him.  
**AH, AGAIN WITH THE SARCASM. VERY WITTY OF YOU.** The Ellimist said. Marco glared.  
**I MEANT IT AS A COMPLIMENT. YOU, OF ALL PEOPLE, SHOULD KNOW THE VALUE OF A SENSE OF HUMOR.** The Ellimist said in a parental voice. It disturbed Marco to no end.  
**YOU MUST BE WONDERING WHAT I'M HERE FOR.** The Ellimist said, looking at the short man.  
"That'd be nice to know." Marco said. The Ellmist chuckled in response. **FIRST, TO APOLOGIZE.**  
**IT WAS IN THE RULES OF THE GAME.** The Ellimist said. **I COULDN'T HAVE YOU REMEMBERING.**  
"Why not?" Marco asked. "What harm would it do for me to have my memories?"  
**YOU'RE BETTER OFF NOT KNOWING.** The Ellimist answered. Marco blinked. That was enough info.  
**NEVERTHELESS, I WAS HOPING YOU WOULD REMEMBER.** The Ellimist told the young man.  
Marco frowned, now quite confused. "Despite the whatever I don't want to know it might've caused?"  
**YES. THIS UNION YOU HAVE, SO TO SPEAK, WITH THE ANDALITE MAY INDEED PROVE TO INFLUENCE THE TIMELINE OF MANY. I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO RESTORE IT.** The Ellimist said.  
"So you're like some intergalactic Cupid?" Marco asked, not that certain what the Ellimist meant.  
**BY NO MEANS.** The Ellimist said. **I DON'T INTERFERE WITH THE LIVES OF OTHER SPECIES. HOWEVER, I DID MAKE ADJUSTMENTS IN ORDER TO RESTART WHAT HAD BEEN LOST.**  
Before Marco got a chance to ask anything, the Ellimist continued. **I DID NOT EXPECT YOU TO REMEMBER EVERYTHING.** The Ellimist told Marco. **IT SEEMS I CAN'T ERASE IT ALL.**  
"Um, what are you talking about?" Marco asked, now more than a bit confused. The Ellimist laughed.  
**LOVE, OF COURSE. IT'S NOT THE EASIET THING TO GET RID OF.** Marco shuddered at this.  
"Don't use the 'L' word." He pleaded. "It scares me." The Ellimist's amusement seemed to increase.  
**I APOLOGIZE, THEN. BUT THAT DOES REMIND ME OF THE SECOND THING I CAME HERE FOR.**  
"Oh, joy and rapture." Marco muttered, now more than afraid of what the Ellimist had planned.  
**YOU REALIZE I CANNOT MAKE THINGS AS THEY WERE.** The Ellimist said. Marco looked at him.  
**IF YOU WISH TO REMAKE THAT BOND YOU ONCE HAD, THAT WILL BE UP TO YOU.** said Ellimist.  
Marco swallowed down the lump in his throat. "So you're saying it's up to me?" He asked the Ellimist.  
**YES. AS IT WAS BEFORE, YOU BOTH MUST HAVE THE COURAGE TO START OVER AGAIN. IF YOU BELIEVE IT'S WORTH IT, OF COURSE.** The Ellimist told Marco.  
"But I," Marco bit his lip as he tried to think of the words to say. "I don't know what to do."  
**DID YOU KNOW BEFORE?** The Ellimist asked. **I'D SAY RUNNING AWAY WOULD PROVE THAT.**  
Marco groaned. "Am I ever going to get a break for that? It was enough having Cassie lecture me!"  
The Ellimist laughed. **WE CAN'T ALWAYS SEE OUR OWN MISTAKES. AXIMILI HAD TO HAVE QUITE A BIT OF SENSE SLAPPED INTO HIM AS WELL, IF I AM NOT MISTAKEN.**  
"Great. He's not perfect either." Marco said, glancing at the Ellimist. "I knew that."  
**IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE DIFFICULT, I WON'T STOP YOU.** The Ellimist said. Marco rolled his eyes.  
**I JUST LEAVE YOU WITH ONE QUESTION. DO YOU LOVE HIM?**

Marco gripped the bedsheets as he awoke with a hard jerk. He blinked a few times to see his surroundings.  
He was in his sleeping quarters on The Rachel. There were some clothes on his dresser, with a note attached.

Hope you wake up soon, Jake

"Thanks big guy." Marco said to himself as he grabbed the clothes and got dressed. As put on his shoes, the former Animorph mused over what the Ellimist had told him. If he wanted to be with Ax again, it would be up to the two of them to make that happen. _Simple enough, it's not like we haven't done this before._ Marco thought.  
He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. Marco was surprised to notice it'd grown out a little.  
Well, that would be the first thing to do when he got home back on Earth -- get a haircut. Or maybe let Jeanne give him one, he'd heard she was good with a pair of scissors. The thought of a non-liscened hairstylist touching his hair petrified Marco too much to give that idea much considering. The short man took a deep breath.  
Those were all great, wonderful plans but he had something a bit more pressing to do.  
When he opened the door, Marco was face-to-face with Jake. Both men jumped back.  
"Sorry," Jake said. "I didn't know you were awake."  
"That's okay, I didn't know you were here." Marco said. Jake shrugged. "It's no big deal."  
"You've been out since last night, by the way." The tree-like brunette added. Marco blinked. "That long?"  
Jake nodded. "Yeah." He said. Then an uncomfortable silence set between the two of them.  
"Jake, I think I need to tell you," Marco was cut off by his big best friend. Jake shook his head. "I remember."  
Then the One once known as Fearless Leader broke into a smile. "I didn't mind then and I don't now."  
Marco inhaled a deep breath. "That's a relief." He said. Then he looked at Jake. "Do you know where Ax is?"  
The Giant Man's brows knitted as he thought the question over. "Yeah, I think he's with Menderash."  
Seeing the somewhat murderous look on Marco's face, he added. "They're trying to connect the ship's systems."  
"Good." Said Marco, his voice quite clipped. Before he left, he bowed to Jake. "I shall be returning soon, my good sir."  
Jake shoved him out the door. 

---------------- 

Now it was panic time. Jake had said nothing about where Ax and Menderash were!  
Trying to keep his cool, Marco decided that staking out The Rachel's now not-so-stable communications system would be a good start. He walked through the halls of the spaceship, surprised to see a large number of aliens hanging around in the hallways. Most of them turned to look at Marco, who felt an urge to run.  
Many of them started whispering in various tongues that he couldn't understand, or using private thoughtspeak.  
Marco rushed out of the hallway, certain he didn't want to know what the conversation was about.  
He reached the main control room, where the amount of sentient life was a little less dense.  
Sure enough, he saw Menderash working on a computer like a squirrel worked on a nut, and above him was Ax.  
At the same moment, Marco's heart both flew and sank. It was wonderful to see Ax again, but god, he hadn't even taken a moment to consider how the hell _he_ might be feeling about the two of them getting together again.

Too late now. Menderash had by some miracle looked up from his computer and seen Marco standing there.  
Marco watched, his stomach twisting in nervousness, as the Nothlit tapped his Prince, who Marco noticed had gone into human morph again. Well, that had to be a good sign, didn't it?  
Time seemed to slow down as Ax turned around, and Marco almost had to catch his breath as they looked each other in the eyes. Then with all the courage he could muster, Marco managed a small smile.

The word fell from his lips like a drop of water.

"Hey."

****

Wow! People still read this? (Reviewer Response)

Avada Kedavra - Yes! Go look up more M/A! Corrupt yourself! **coughs** 'Course, it's not like I'm paid to say that. **not-so-discreetly takes a mysterious hundered dollar bill** Argh, I agree with you about the lack of Animorphs fic. It's sad. Even more so because that means even less Anislash. **sighs** As for Ax doing obscene things to Marco...yeah, it's likely, though I dunno if I'll be writing about it in _this_ fic. (**wink**)

****

Lauren - You know, you're right. The last chapter was kinda sad, I think. I wanted to show how desperate and all Ax was, but I don't know if anybody caught that. Oh well. I'm glad you like Aliens vs. The One, too! I'm gonna miss this story, too. **sniff** I dun wanna finish it...and I'm not killing anybody except The One! Yep, I'm happy about my kittens too. =)

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Doctor Strangelove - I'm glad you liked the chapter, I guess it wasn't the stinkbomb I thought it was. And you know how it goes, now that I've written more, you'd better cough up soon. =P Oooh, more fic? Yay! I'm sort of scared for Jake now, but I'd love to see that fic. As for Ax/Oz...I think I should deny whatever part I had in the creation of that before you write it. (I just pictured Ax obbsessing over Oz while he watches Buffy, by the way. Throw THAT in Adventures in Clubbing and I'd be your loyal slave...moreso.) And I will write more, the second part to this chap is coming up! 


	15. Chapter Fourteen When Things Change: Par...

Author's Note: It's over. Wow. Um, what can I say? No joking or bullshitting here, a 50-foot THANK YOU to all my reviewers. If it weren't for you guys, I probably would've stopped writing this a long time ago. When I started this fic, I hadn't even intended for it to become a series, but I'm glad that it did. I'm also glad that since I've been writing this fic, it seems like more and more people aren't totally grossed out by the thought of slash and that is really fricking cool. The real reason I started writing this fic was because, at the time, there were only two fics about this couple and since I really liked Marco and Ax together, I felt like evening the score. =P  
Now this couple seems to have become pretty popular. Eeek. And an extra THANK YOU to the three authors whose works inspired me to keep on going with this fic -- Forlay, Doctor Strangelove, and Phenomene.  
Thanks, thanks, thanks! Gah, I'm getting emotional. **sniff** I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and of course, I'm not going to stop writing M/A. Check out some of my other fics if you find yourself in need of a fix. Whoa, that rhymed!  
One note about the chapter - a part of this is left up to your own interpretation. Think what you want to. I'm not going to say what happened one way or the other, I leave that to you, the reader, to decide. =)  
All right, my insane babbling done for now, enjoy the last chapter!

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Be Stupid Chapter Fourteen: When Things Change  
Part Two

****

Ax - Beginnings 

---------------- 

The word echoed through his head like sound in a dark cave. For a moment, the Andalite felt tempted to pinch himself so that he could be certain he wasn't dreaming. So that he could be certain this wasn't some trick of The Ellimist or The One, who was now dead. It wasn't a dream, though, and Ax knew that.  
He just wasn't sure if he wanted to admit it.  
What was he supposed to do, go running into Marco's arms like those women he saw on soap operas?  
Somehow, that didn't seem like a good idea. It wasn't as if Ax would object to being Marco's arms, but Ax felt that just running into them like some sort of awkward simpleton. No, Ax was going to have to handle the sudden pounding his heart in a more manner than that. The Andalite tapped his First Officer on the shoulder and motioned over to Marco so as to inform Menderash he would be elsewhere. Menderash, far too absorbed in his work with the remnants of The Rachel's communications systems gave a slight nod in reply and kept working.

"It's been a hell of a day, hasn't it?" Marco asked, adding an awkward nervous laugh. Ax nodded.  
"Yes, it has." The Andalite said, surprised at the way his voice seemed to have dropped a few decibels.  
A long silence passed between the two men, with neither of looking at the other, but unable to speak.  
Just as Ax decided he was going to break the silence, Marco started talking.  
"Sorry I didn't, you know, talk to you for the past year." The short man said. "I forgot about, well, everything."  
Ax shook his head to try and stop Marco from talking. It hadn't worked, so the Andalite resorted to covering Marco's mouth with his hand. He had to admit the angry glare he got in return was cute, in it's own strange way.  
"You don't need to apologize. I figured, after a month on Intrepid with no contact from any of you, that Ellimist had affected your memories." The Andalite said, then with a slow apprehension, removed his human hand.  
Both men took a step back on instinct. It'd been quite a while since they were this close.  
"You have no idea," Marco whispered. "How weird that was."  
Ax smiled with a hint of mischeviousness on his lips. "Are you certain?" He asked, his voice full of teasing mirth.  
Marco looked at him for a moment, contemplating something. "Don't tempt me to do something I might regret."  
Ax fought to keep from laughing. "I'm not tempting you to do anything." He said, his voice steady.  
Marco raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah, Mister Grovel-At-My-Intelligence-You-Primitive-Humans?"  
Ax blinked. That was a new one. He decided then and there that he didn't want to understand Marco's brain.  
Marco continued his diatribe. "Anyone with half a brain can tell you're flirting with me, which may indeed tempt me to do something I could regret." Then Ax felt Marco grab by the shoulders all of the sudden. "Like this." He said.  
It was at that moment that Marco halfway forced Ax into a long, hard kiss.  
More than half of the ship seemed to freeze in time. Menderash dropped the computer component he'd been tinkering with. Jeanne's eyes grew wide. Santorelli grew green and made a mad rush for the bathrooms.  
Tobias glared. Many of the ship's aliens started cheering while they restrained the other half determined to kill the young man and the Andalite. Jake's reaction was quite simple. "No PDA on the ship!" He shouted.  
It was then that Marco let go of a rather dazed Ax. He smiled a rather shy kind of smile. "Told you not to tempt me."  
Then he turned to Jake and gave him a salute. "Oui, mon captain!" He shouted. It was then that Ax thumped Marco upside the head, just in order to shut his boyfriend up for the good of all on the ship. 

---------------- 

"Hear me out." Jake said. "I know it sounds ludicrous, but how else do you expect us to handle them all?"  
Jake, his eyes infused with a spark from the plan he'd just come up with, looked over at Ax.  
"How many of them can we fit onto Intrepid?" Jake asked the resident alien.  
That depends on whether you want them all packed or comfortable. Ax said. After the incident earlier near The Rachel's communications systems, Ax had retreated back to his natural form as a safety measure. It was the only way that half of the Blade Ship/Rachel's inhabitants would not kill him, despite his part in their freedom from the One. It was a depressing thought that the unity they had all experienced while fighting the One was starting to dissipate so soon. Ax tried not to focus on it, however, and get to the task at hand.  
"Semi-comfortable would be best." Jake said. "We have too many to make everyone comfortable."  
What are we going to do about the races that hate each other? Tobias asked. We can't have a war here.  
"Keep them as far from each other as we can." Marco said. "There's not much more we can do than that."  
We can fit close to seventy-five percent of them onto Intrepid without packing them all inside. Ax told the group.  
Jake nodded, a brisk, quick movement. "That'll do. Now, like Tobias mentioned, we can't have all of them acting out intergalactic war on the ship. We're going to need some of us to keep the peace. Any volunteers?" He asked.  
Both Menderash and Jeanne raised their hands. I would like to assist as well, Prince Jake. Ax said.  
Jake smiled at the volunteers. "All right, then. If war breaks out, you three get all the blame. Ax, Menderash, how are you guys going with reconstructing the ships?" Jake asked. Menderash frowned, thinking to himself.  
"Prince Aximili and I have the ships under eighty-five percent compatibility, Prince Jake." Menderash said.  
Yes. By tomorrow, the ships should be 100 percent compatible. Ax chipped in.  
"By tomorrow? Why, I thought you'd have it done in three minutes." Marco joked. Ax and Menderash glared.  
"Maybe they would have if you didn't come to interrupt them, faggot." Santorelli said, his voice stern and gruff.  
Jake stared at the Sergeant, anger playing in his eyes. Tobias's hawk glare seemed to increase in its intensity.  
Jeanne bit her lip, looking like she wanted to slap Santorelli. Even Menderash looked uncomfortable.  
Marco's words came out slow and angry. "What did you call me?" He asked. Santorelli rose to his feet in a flash.  
"You heard me, you queer." Santorelli said, his voice laced with contempt. "Your kind of people disgust me."  
"Funny, _your_ kind of people disgust _me_." Marco said with a calm, dangerous voice.  
"Figures." Santorelli snorted. "What I just don't get is why all you freaks can't stay closeted. What a man does in the bedroom is his own business, there's no need to bring your quirks out in the open. Nobody else wants to know."  
Ax saw it for the brief millisecond it lasted. The anger in Marco's eyes had given way to a shadow of doubt.  
"Both of you, sit down. _Now._" Jeanne said, her arms crossed. "Or I morph lioness and make you sit."  
Both men sat down without breaking the glares in their eyes. Jake sighed and tapped his head with a pencil.  
"We can't expect peace on the ship if we're going to fight amongst ourselves. Marco, Santorelli, on your own time." Jake said, his voice sounding weary and stressed. "Or else I'll let Jeanne loose on you both. Get it?"  
"Got it." Both men said in unison. Ax felt, at that moment, an overwhelming urge to speak for himself, to speak to the man who he felt he had, to be honest, begun to fall in love with. He wanted to say something, any one thing.  
Yet Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil remained silent.  
So let me recap this. Tobias said. A million or so inhabitants of a parasitic being, and we're returning them all home?  
"Yeah, that's the plan." Jake said, smiling an unsure smile. "That is the plan." 

---------------- 

Both Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil and Menderash-Postill-Fastill stood in front of the new communications center for The Rachel, now a hybrid made up Yeerk, Andalite, human and various other species' technology.  
"This is amazing." The Nothlit said. "To think that such technologies merged like this, it boggles the mind!"  
Yes, it does. Ax agreed. Menderash, I think we should quite proud of ourselves for this achievement.  
Ax's ex-First Officer smiled. "Imagine what they'd think of it on the homeworld." He said, giving one of the computers an affectionate pat. "I wonder if there'd be any way to duplicate this technology?"  
Ax shrugged, forgetting that wasn't a normal action for an Andalite. Perhaps, but I doubt that we could.  
"What makes you think that, Prince Aximili?" Menderash asked, and for the first time, Ax noted no stuttering in his speech. Menderash had been human for close a year now, it was true, but he seemed to be in even better control of his human morph than Ax himself. To get this array of parts would take us a millennia. Ax answered Menderash.  
"Yes, you're right. It would be worth it, though." Menderash said, looking at the system with the pride of a father.  
If used in the correct hands, yes. Ax answered, amused by Menderash's obvious pride.  
"The correct hands." Menderash said with a shake of his head. "You sound old-fashioned, Prince Aximili."  
Ax was taken aback by his ex-First Officer's words. What did Menderash mean by that, calling him old-fashioned?  
"I meant no disrespect." Menderash said in a meek voice. "It's rather obvious you aren't the old-fashioned type."  
Rather obvious? Ax asked, still feeling a bit confused.  
"Well, yes, considering your behavior with that human the other day." The Nothlit answered.  
Ax felt a flush of shame. He was no longer ashamed of his homosexuality, but this was the first time he had ever discussed this with any other Andalite aside from his own parents. Ax felt quite uncomfortable about the situation.  
That's not quite our normal behavior. Ax said, shocked to find that he was defending himself against Menderash.  
"Then the two of you aren't, as the humans say, an item?" Menderash asked, seeming to have a genuine interest.  
I wouldn't say that. Ax said. We are, but under normal circumstances, we aren't that flamboyant about it.  
"Ah, I understand." Menderash said as he tore he gaze from the comm system to his Prince. "I wouldn't be, either."  
Yes. Ax said, remembering his eviction from his family. It isn't a wise decision. Menderash smiled then.  
"It doesn't matter to me. I believe that one's worth as a soldier and Prince overweigh personal matters." He said.  
That's a relief. Ax said, feeling a pang of regret as he recalled his decision to be a Nothlit. Perhaps he had judged his own people too fast. Yes, there was no doubt in his mind that the Homeworld would remain prejudiced for many a century more. Ax's hope, though, in those attitudes changing was given sudden life once again.  
The difference in age between himself and Menderash wasn't large at all. The two of them shared the same age group, it just happened that Ax was higher in rank. Was it wrong to believe he might become accepted one day?  
I think we should inform Prince Jake we've completed our work on the communications system. Ax said.  
So they went off, Andalite and Nothlit, to go inform Jake of their progress.  
Ax had a feeling, however, that perhaps a ship's systems weren't the only thing they had progressed. 

---------------- 

The two of them found Jake sitting in his quarters on The Rachel, trying (with Jeanne helping) to diffuse an argument between a Tly, a ruddy colored lizard-like creature and a Kigora, metallic beings famed around the galaxy for it's stubborn attitudes. On a bad day, the Kigora could rival Andalites in that department.  
Prince Jake! We have finished our work on the communications system! Ax shouted, unaware of the brewing fight inside of Jake's chambers. Jake gave Ax a slight of his hand. "That's great, guys." He said, his voice steel.  
"Prince Jake, is there anything we can," Jake cut off Menderash with a shake of his head.  
The Andalite and the Nothlit then left Jake and Jeanne to handle whatever situation had arose.  
After that, Ax and Menderash had gone their separate ways. Ax found himself wandering the halls of The Rachel.  
He could've been wandering the Blade Ship, he supposed, but Ax knew more about the ship than he even cared to know. Therefore looking around The Rachel proved much more interesting.  
Aside from the revamping of the control center to one more befitting her human inhabitants, and the addition of sleeping quarters designed for humans, there was no large leap of difference between The Rachel and an advanced Blade Ship. Ax, however, preferred The Rachel to any Blade Ship any day, in particular after his capture by The One. It might have been a bitter sentiment but Ax couldn't help how he felt about it.  
"What's a guy like you doing in a place like this?" Ax turned his stalk eyes around to see who was speaking.  
It turned out to be just the person he suspected. Marco was walking up to him, hands in his pockets, smirking.  
I was wandering around. I'm not very familiar with this ship, after all. Ax answered.  
Marco, now standing next to him shrugged. "I could give you a tour." He said, hiding a smile. "All expenses paid."  
I assume you have nothing better to do. Ax said. Marco laughed. "And you assume right. Come on, let's go."  
Go where? Ax asked, but before he could get a proper answer, Marco took it upon himself to start the tour.  
"This hallway is where everyone's sleeping quarters are. To the right is that asshole Santorelli's room, and Menderash's quarters are to the left. Further down are Jeanne's quarters, which I wouldn't mind looking into."  
Looking up to see Ax's glare of doom, Marco amended himself. "Of course, I only have eyes for you."  
That's a relief, as I assume Jeanne would gut you like a fish for sneaking into her quarters. Ax said.  
Marco laughed, nervous. Ax guessed his little comment had more truth to it than he'd intended it to.  
"Those, of course." Marco said, pointing to the room to the right. "Are my quarters. End of story."  
The two of them turned into a different hall. "This is the control room, which you know quite well." Marco said.  
They went to the left into another room. "Even though I know I'll regret telling you this, this is the kitchen-slash-dining quarters. Please, I beg you, don't go in unless you're invited, all right Ax-man?" Marco asked.  
Ax sighed. He'd never put much thought into it, but convincing the others that he could handle himself around food was going to be a continuous battle. I promise not to go in unless invited. The Andalite said.  
Then the two men took off down another hallway. "This is the armory and weapons storage unit."  
Why would you need all of this? Ax asked. Marco shrugged. "It was built into the ship beforehand."  
Then they went down another path. "And here we are at the sleeping quarters again." Marco said.  
Ax saw Marco hesitate for a moment, then he seemed to blow it off. "Do you want to come in?" He asked.  
Ax shrugged, not seeing any harm in it, and finding that he didn't much care either way. He went inside.  
"Sorry, it's a pigsty." Marco said, picking up various articles of clothing in an attempt to create a safe walkway.  
I don't mind. Ax said. Don't you remember my apartment? He asked.  
Marco almost dropped the tiny mountain of clothes in his hands. "You're right." He said. Then he gave Ax a conspiratory look. "Perhaps you're how I learned to make such a mess of this place." He accused, poking fun.  
Perhaps you were never very good at cleaning up. Ax commented, enjoying the irritated expression he got in return. Marco dismissed his comment with a wave of his hand, pretending not to have heard a word of it.  
"Make yourself at home, do whatever you like." Marco said, dropping the mountain of clothes onto a pile in the back of his sleeping quarters. Checking to make sure no one could see before that he did it, Ax began to morph.  
In a matter of moments, Ax was once again human. All at once, the Andalite found himself fighting an onslaught of emotion. The short incident near the communications center notwithstanding, it had been a year since Ax had found himself in this morph, the morph that was as familiar to him as his own Andalite body.  
A morph in which he felt more secure in than his own Andalite body. A morph he had been prepared to live the rest of his life in until the moment the Ellimist had ripped that chance from him. Now, though, he could morph again.  
"Ax, are you feeling okay?" Ax was snapped back to reality by Marco's voice. The shorter man was looking at him in concern, not bothering to hide the worry lurking in his eyes. Ax smiled in gratitude and nodded. "Yes, I'm fine."  
Marco seemed relieved. "Good." He said. "That's good to know." The young men smiled at one another.  
"I was worried." Marco whispered. "I mean, you looked a little out of it, and after...all of that, I was freaked."  
Ax knew what "all of that" meant. Marco had to be referring to Ax's possession by the One. "I understand." He said.  
Ax looked away and stared at a blank wall. "I should've told you sooner, when I first suspected it."  
"No way." Marco said, shaking his head. "I would have thought you were going nuts."  
"I thought that, too." Ax said. "It would have been logical for you to believe the same."  
"Listen." Marco said, seating him in a chair in the corner. "I should've asked you what was up, you know."  
"Jesus, even _I_ can tell something's wrong if you attack a bunch of kids! But I didn't do anything, either. We're both to blame and we're both more than lucky nothing happened in the end." Marco said.  
Remembering the future the Ellimist had shown him, Ax agreed. "Yes, I'd say we have incredible luck."  
"You know, no one aside from Jake, Tobias and Cassie, I'd wager, remembers any of it." Marco said.  
Ax nodded. "Yes, I figured that out when my mother let me talk to her." He told Marco.  
The shorter man looked up in surprise. "What're you talking about?" He asked.  
"I didn't tell you, did I?" Ax asked, looking straight the other man's suspicious eyes. "My parents disowned me."  
Marco shot up from his seat like a rocket. "They _what_? How could they? How could you not tell me?"  
"I apologize. There were more pressing matters, after all." Ax said. "It wasn't intentional, I just forgot to tell you."  
"Don't you ever keep something like that from me again!" Marco shouted, now hopping mad.  
"We weren't together at the time, you know." Ax said in a quiet voice. Marco sighed in exasperation.  
"I know, but you shouldn't have to keep something like that to yourself." Marco said with a sheepish shrug.  
"I would have liked to tell you all, but I was afraid of getting the same reaction." Ax admitted, looking at his feet.  
"I wouldn't have." Marco said, causing Ax to look up. "Even if I wasn't attracted to you, I wouldn't have cared."  
Ax smiled. "That's good to know." He said, now moving himself to sit on the bed. Something had occurred to him.  
"How did your parents take the news?" The Andalite asked. "I never did get to find out."  
Marco's whistled before he gave an answer. "They were happy for me as long as I didn't tell them a thing."  
"Ah." Ax said. "Well, I suppose that's a good thing." Then he looked back at Marco, dubious. "What did you tell them?"  
"To be honest? Nothing." The dark haired young man said. "They found out through Tompson, that asshole."  
"I see." Ax said, leaving it be. "We're lucky in that regard. At least Tompson won't reveal us like he did."  
Marco raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, _Tompson_ won't reveal us?" He asked, wary.  
"I doubt he remembers anything. He now lacks the fuel he needs for the Human Alliance to gain new members. With the memories of my attacking those two boys and anyone's recollection of our relationship both gone, Christopher Tompson does not have much basis for his organization as the Yeerks have so far been the only problematic species, excepting the Skrit Na, to arrive on Earth." Ax explained. "Simple as that."  
Ax rested his chin on his head as he thought. "Of course, that means our relationship is not public knowledge."  
Marco blinked. "I almost forgot. So, we get to decide about making that public this time around." He said.  
"Yes." Ax said, then looked back at Marco. "Assuming we want to, of course." He added.  
The shorter man shrugged. "My show needs a ratings boost. Besides, I never did like skirting around it."  
Ax frowned at him, confused. "Skirting around it?" He asked. Marco sighed, leaning back against the wall.  
"It's an expression, Ax-man. It means to not lie, per se, but just not tell everything." The shorter man explained.  
"Ah, a lie of omission." Ax said, now understanding without a doubt. "It never was satisfying, I must admit."  
Marco nodded. "I gotta agree with you on that. But, Ax-man, you know that your people don't remember, either."  
Ax picked himself up off the bed and looked boyfriend in the eyes. "I know that." He said with a grim smile.  
"I don't intend to keep them in the dark any longer." Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil said, his voice determined.  
Marco shrugged, and Ax could have sworn he saw a glint of something like pride in his eyes.  
"Your decision." Marco said. "And of course, if anything happens, you can always stay here with me."  
Ax smiled, grateful at the offer. "Thank you." He whispered, and Marco grew sheepish. "It's no big deal." He said.  
It was, however, quite a big deal to the Andalite. It was quite a relief to know that he had support on his decision.

And he did stay the rest of the day there. 

---------------- 

It happened the day afterwards while Ax was on his way to the kitchen-slash-dining quarters. Prince Jake had requested all of the crew and Ax, to act as mediator, be there early in order to inform the beings on board of their new living arrangements.  
One moment Ax, now Andalite again, was making his way towards the eating area, and the next moment time itself seemed to have stopped. On instinct Ax turned to fight whatever enemy had presented itself.  
**AXIMILI, BE CALM.** The Ellimist said, his tone hinting he found the Andalite's reaction funny.  
It's you, Ellimist. Ax said. He didn't even bother to conceal his bitterness. **YES, I AM HERE. **It said.  
**DO NOT WORRY, I HAVE NOTHING TO ASK FROM YOU.** The Ellimist assured Ax.  
**CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR DEFEAT OF THE ONE.** The not-quite-all-powerful being said.  
Ax stopped dead in his tracks as he realized something. It was you who freed us! The Andalite gasped.  
The Ellimist shook its head, which was not a true head at all. **I AWAKENED THE ONE'S INHABITANTS. YOU WERE ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR GAINING YOUR FREEDOM, THOUGH.** The Ellimist said.  
**I GAVE YOU A CHANCE AT FREEDOM, NO INTERFERENCE. THE CHOICE WAS YOURS.**  
You call that no interference? Ax asked, not believing a word the Ellimist said. You're nothing but a meddler.  
The Ellimist laughed. **YOU MAY BE RIGHT, ANDALITE. I'M CERTAIN YOUR BROTHER WOULD AGREE. HOWEVER, THE CHOICE IS ALWAYS YOURS. I DO NOT INTERFERE.**  
For some reason I'm staring to doubt that. Ax said, his voice dry and cutting. **DOUBT AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE.**  
What have you come to tell me? Ax asked, suspicion and doubt lining his voice.  
**I'VE COME TO GIVE YOU A PIECE OF ADVICE, THAT IS ALL.** The Ellimist said.  
**REMEMBER THIS, AXIMILI-ESGARROUTH-ISHTIL, BROTHER OF ELFANGOR-SIRINAL-SHAMTUL. REMEMBER THIS ONE FACT OF LIFE. NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES YOU ARE FACED WITH, THERE IS ALWAYS ONE ENDURING THING THAT NEVER LEAVE YOU.** The Ellimist said.

****

REMEMBER THAT THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE.

Then time started up again, back to normal. And the Ellimist? He was gone.

Ax raced to the kitchen-slash-dining quarters. 

---------------- 

The meeting was long and torturous.  
Ax wasn't sure why he expected it to be any different. However, Prince Jake and the others had managed to convince the others now living on The Rachel-Blade Ship mix to cooperate with each other in a peaceful manner.  
Ax himself doubted that anyone besides Prince Jake would have been able to pull off such a feat. The responsibility of keeping the peace now lay on the shoulders, or perhaps tail in Ax's case, of Menderash, Jeanne and Ax; though the other three members of The Rachel's crew also held that duty in their own ways.  
All those aboard were to sign an agreement of peace that was to be kept until all those aboard were returned to their families and/or homeworlds. Menderash and Ax were made the ship's captains, which was a large relief to Menderash who swore he woke up in a cold sweat at the thought of Marco operating his communications system.  
Jeanne was Jake's principal Officer of the Peace, as the other aliens had taken to calling her. She developed a rapport with most lifeforms on the ship, and those she lacked that bond with, knew enough to respect her.  
Santorelli, who had been assigned as Jeanne's second-in-command, fell into the second category. On the plus side, this did lead to the gruff Officer's begrudging respect to "that feminazi" and "the two faggots", as he said.  
Marco was assigned the job of entertaining any unruly ship-goers to keep them from doing any damage.  
He turned out to be rather successful in this endeavor, which surprised quite a few people.  
Jake, of course, remained the ship's leader. Much like Ax, even though they came from different races, they knew that Jake was the kind of person one gave their respect to. He was the kind that knew how to lead.

The final destinations of ex-Animorphs and those aboard the Rachel were a bit scattered in and of itself.  
Menderash had made the decision to live on Earth for the time being. Aside from his family and friends, he said, there wasn't anyone on the Homeworld that would even bother to care if he was gone. He was lucky that his family and close friends were enthusiastic tourists, Earth just happening to be one of their favorite vacation spots.  
Jeanne intended to work with other lifeforms both on her home planet and elsewhere. Sergeant Santorelli was banking to quit the military and live with his wife and children, away from all this madness.  
Tobias was going to return to Earth as well, still living as a hawk, but this time keeping in touch with his loved ones. Jake was planning to try living on Earth again, perhaps this time attempting to get past the pain of losing his brother and cousin. He also had every intention to apologize to Cassie when he got home, both for missing her wedding and for not having the guts to fight for her, and telling her that he hoped Ronnie did a better job.

Marco, of course, was going back to Earth. He had resolved to make no effort to hide his feelings for the Andalite. He'd also decided that, of all people, Tilopid should be the first to cover those feelings in print, _not_ Christopher Tompson and in a real publication like Time as opposed to a random broadcast. Though he had made no mention of this to anyone whatsoever, he was going to ask Ax to live with him, at least part-time.  
Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil was going to return to his homeworld for a while. Just as Marco had, he had also resolved to make no effort to hide his own feelings. If he people refused to accept that, it was fine with him. However, Ax wanted to see if he could at least try to open his people's eyes. It wasn't a permanent plan, of course. Ax had every single intention to return to Earth and continue his life as a Nothlit. After all, he had to pay his landlady all of his now immense debt of rent money somehow. The prospect of these actions did overwhelm the little brother of Elfangor at times, yet it was as the Ellimist said -- there was always hope. Even if his people never outgrew their outlook, even if his relationship with Marco and the others fell apart, there would always be hope.

And somewhere, some time, a not-quite-all-powerful being laughed as thousands of timelines, spurred on by the random bond sparked between two other twisting lines, began to change and transform towards a more open and peaceful life.

No interference required.

****

Those Who Reviewed During the One-Day Gap Between These Chaps (reviewer response):

Doctor Strangelove - My sincerest apologies, but it is all over now. I'll still be writing, of course, so don't worry about a lack of M/A, if that works as consolation. Yay, Ax/Oz! **cheers** I can't wait to see that! (Extra points if Marco and/or Tobias get involved. Yes, my mind works in odd ways.) Your fic idea both intrigues and scares me. Kind of reminds me of this one time a friend and I were joking around about writing a fic where Ax gets "ill" (use that slash-sex-starved brain of yours, I'm sure you can guess what I mean) when he discovers the blocked channels on his satelite dish. Bad things happened. You know what? I think I should stop discussing this before I write something I'm going to regret more than my gender-bending fic. Shoo, evil ideas, shoo! =P Good luck to you on finding an NC-17, by the way. Despite a lot of the random m/m NC-17 stuff I've found for this fandom, somehow it all avoids being M/A. Weird. Tell me if you find something. Oy, I cannot believe I just encouraged someone to find sex fic. I _am_ going to go to hell. **sigh** Oh yeah, and human/Andalite sex...ACK! EWW! NOOOO! **runs away in fear** Manly handshakes are good, very, very, very good. The scary thing is, I read a fic where there was human/Andalite interaction, so to speak. It was WRONG. Okay, now that I'm gonna shut up, I leave you with this one command -- write more fic! Please!


End file.
